Liberty City Legends
by Aaron Gamemaster
Summary: The title will chage. Following the events of the Cime Lords of Liberty City in the year 2008. Max Payne, Claude Speed, Joey leone, and many, many, more. These stories intertwine through a series of twists and turns to a new conclusion. Very intense.
1. Payne and Jefferson

_**Aaron Gamemaster's**_

**Fight for Justice a.k.a We Were Brothers**

**A/N: For some reason, these two chapters, although only being 4,000 words, took me a while to write. I hope you enjoy them as I am posting the first two chapters up at the same time, back to back. Enjoy.**

The streets were quite at the dark hour. Liberty City was sleeping, as the years worst crime was about to be committed. Long after the sunset, the city went into a cold state. After-hours, a gang rivalry would end up in a massacre.

Detective Max Payne sat at his desk, early on October 29th, sipping coffee. The pleasant sound of the city, the honking, the humming of cars are which Max had grown accustomed to.

Looking at his computer, Max wiped his eyes. In front of him, past a window of glass, Max's partner, Pierce Jefferson, sat at his desk. Pierce leaned over, looking at Max, and asked in a suggestive tone, "You tired buddy?"

Max widened his eyes, trying to get comfortable. "No, my eyes hurt." He replied, in a deep voice.

Pierce gave a short laugh. Pierce was about five foot eleven inches tall, white, and had his hair gelled up, coming to a wave above his face. He wore black jeans, a white button up shirt, a black tie, and just like Max, a leather jacket, open.

To Max's right, was a window outside, which revealed the sloping streets of Shoreside Vale, cars and pedestrians dotted the roads. The airport was just barely in his sight. The Shoreside Lift Bridge stood tall, with the dark blue sky in the background, which outlined the skyscrapers of Staunton Island.

Looking into the city, Max knew how much chaos was going on. Upon every street corner con artists, murderers, drug dealers, and gang bangers. How did he end up in this city anyway?

Max took another sip of his steaming coffee, Pierce still looking at him. They had eye contact. A few moments passed, "What?" Max said, with a wide expression. Pierce started to laugh, and went back to work. Max held his laugh in, a typical day, typical Pierce.

Max and Pierce were good friends, they had a lot in common. Pierce survived a plane crash, at the expense of his family, he now worked for LCPD, getting over it along with Max, they both got over their losses, and started enjoying life again.

The police station was quiet, as usual in the mornings, despite a few voices in the background, you could hear a pen drop. It was a little after five in the morning, and it usually doesn't start to get loud until around seven or eight.

Max and Pierce had just finished a case, and did not really have anything to do, except wait. Wait fro what seemed like hours and hours and hours, fro something to happen. Max would very much like to go home and watch TV in his apartment, but he had to be at work.

He spent most of his time looking out the window, at passersby from above. Every once in a while, around this area, Max saw a blue Banshee speed through, and that same Banshee picking up hookers, and driving off, too fast for him to catch the license plate, but o well, it's not like prostitution is against the law anymore, after that idiot Mayor Theodore got elected.

As Max examined Liberty City from his view, a plane took off from Francis International, it flew off into the distance. Minute by minute, the dark blue became a few shades lighter, no clouds in the sky at all. It would be a sunny day.

Max started daydreaming, about Vice City, and how beautiful it was when he visited there with Pierce on a well deserved vacation. Max had been 'officer of the month' seven times in a row.

Max's daydream was broke up when Pierce leaned over ad said, "So, that was fun in Vice City, huh Payne?" It was ironic to Max, that he would ask about Vice, just as he was thinking about it.

"Yeah, we gotta do it again sometime," Max suggested, leaning back in his chair, with his hands grasping a cup of coffee, his arms folded inward towards his stomach.

"Yeah, I though about that, but I want to go fishing next time, that VC water is really clear, helps us spot em' faster, ya know?"

Max shook his head in disapproval, "No, no, fishing sucks."

"Sucks? How can you say that?"

"It's not exciting, it's boring."

"What? It is _not_!" he protested.

"Listen, you can go by yourself the, because I am I _not _a fishing kind of person."

"Oh yeah, well then just what kind of person are ya?"

"The kind that _doesn't like fishing_." Max raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, but you don't know what you're missing out on Max."

"Oh yes I do. Sitting in a boat, looking at pretty grey blobs under the water, all day."

"You probably just don't like to fish because you suck at it."

"Drop it."

"No, you must suck at fishing. What other explanation could there be?"

Max glared into Pierces eyes. "I said," he hesitated "Drop it."

Pierce scoffed, shaking his head, returning to his computer, "Okay man, whatever."

After that short conversation, Max stood up and stretched, he had been sitting all night. He slowly made his way around various cubicles, in which he knew many officers. He walked to a brown door with a blue icon on it, the bathroom.

The Station's bathroom were the cleanest in Liberty City. This sudden thought made Max think about the worst bathrooms in the city, at the park. They were disgusting, not bearable to even walk in.

Anyway, Max walked up next to another detective, occupying a urinal. After he got done, he walked over to wash his hands. The detectives spoke, "Boring day, huh Max?"

"Huh?" Max looked up at him, "Ah, yeah Leon."

Leon fixed his hair after he washed his hands, keeping it perfect, as usual. Leon yawned and exited the bathroom, Max following.

Instead of returning to his desk, Max walked downstairs, to buy a packaged doughnut from the vending machine.

As he entered the hallway, a few police officers passed by, talking about drug dealers, Max ignored them and bought his doughnut.

As he returned upstairs, he heard the sergeant, Phil, Pierces brother, speaking.

"Where the hell is Max?" he asked Pierce. Pierce shrugged.

"Here." Max bravely said as he entered.

"Why the hell aren't you at your desk?"

"I went to the bathroom."

"Oh, okay. Anyways, I uh, have a case for you." Max raised his eyebrow. Phil continued, using hand gestures. "Now, I've gotta tell ya'll, this is the worst crime yet. Now I'm thinking, ya'll might not b' able to solve it."

"Just tell us. Please." Max complained.

Phil sighed, "Another gang war."

"Ohhh, not again." Max complained.

"Anyway, it's up near that mansion, on the street across it. There was, fourteen dead gang members? I think."

"What gangs?" Pierce questioned.

"The, Jack Crime Families, and the, us, Southside hoods." Phil nodded his head.

"When did it happen?" Max continued asking.

"'bout, a little over two hours ago."

"Okay," Max walked over to his desk, grabbing his Beretta, "C'mon, Pierce."

They walked downstairs.

As they exited the building, into the patrol car filled parking lot, cars drove by, the road lighting up before them, as many cars had their lights on. The air was soothing and cool. It would be easy to eavesdrop, because many pedestrians were showing up, along the streets, rambling on about their problems.

A tall dark man rode by on his bicycle. The street lights were still on, Max and Pierce walked to their patrol car.

The rancid smell of a cigarette offended Max, as Pierce lit one up. Max opened the door, and got into the drivers seat.

He pointed at Pierce and said, "No smoking in the car."

After taking a few drags, Pierce threw down the cigarette and got into the car. As they drove through various street lights, the streets became more dense with traffic. The sky became lighter and lighter by the second, eventually the streets lights turned off.

The constant chatter over the radio was all that was heard. There was a spectacular view of Liberty City as Max drove across the Cochrane Dam, heading towards eastern Cedar Grove. The sun eventually peeked over the horizon, birds flew above, gently in the cold morning air.

As minutes passed, he came up to the crime scene. Multiple cop cars were parked all along the road, the crime scene blocked off from civilian access.

Max parked the car, he and Pierce got out. Their breathe was noticeable in the air.

Pierce immediately lit up a cigarette. "Detective Max Payne, here to investigate." Max held up his badge, to tall slim officer, with a mustache, a hat on, dressed in blue, wearing a cozy jacket.

"Go ahead sir." He responded. Max walked up to the house, Pierce following. There were bodies spread out, in small dark red puddles of blood, most of them were black, only two or three were white. Bullet casings were littered all over the place, along with a few clips.

Judging by the clothes, one gang was the South Side Hoods, the other, Max had no clue at this point in time. Max wanted to find out the answer. He walked up to another officer and asked, "What were the two gangs involved?"

The officer hesitated. "We have reason to 'spect that's, the Jack Crime Families, and the South side hoods, sir."

"Thank you." Max turned, and headed up to the house. He opened the door, and immediately spotted the first body, a Forensic scientist checking it. A middle aged woman, short, with long black hair. She had three bullet wounds, where a small amount of blood leaked out.

"You think you know the time of death?" Max asked.

The scientist replied, sarcastically, "Oh, do you know how hard my job is, huh? Do ya buddy?"

To Max, he sounded like a homo, a high pitched voice, Max laughed to himself. "I said, do you know the time of death?"

"No."

"Thank you."

In the next hour or so, Pierce and Max studied each body in the house, it seemed to have happened quick, as each person (including a 8 month old baby) had been shot a few times, and the house was cluttered, lamps knocked over, papers on the floor, but nothing was searched. This concerned Max, it couldn't have been a robbery, thing were knocked over, as if someone were in a hurry. Other than that, nothing was touched. What also lead Max to suspect this was a trail of shells, which lead to the broken window, as if the murderer(s) were being attacked, which lead Max to the conclusion of it being around the time of the gang war.

"Could the gang war have anything to do with this?" Max asked himself out loud.

"The only thing I could think of is this," Pierce explained, "Two gangs stare off, about to go at it, while, a, or a few, men get ready to enter the house. But, with a gang war going on, the family, especially with three kid, won't want to go outside, to escape, see?"

"But, wouldn't the family call the cops?" Max protested.

"But what if it happened too fast?"

"Then why a gang war, as a distraction?"

"Oh…" Pierce looked outside. "Unless, their phone lines were cut!" They went outside, to take a look, and sure enough, they were cut.

"Okay, so we have the two gangs, fighting as a distraction… Wait… The JCF wouldn't risk having their men killed just so they could murder a family."

"Ah! But that is where you are wrong, the gang war, is sort of a distraction, but what if the gang war needed to happen, and the JCF, or SSH, whoever had to reason, to kill this family, saw it as an opportunity. Ya know, killin' two bird with a, I mean, one… stone."

"Yes… Okay… But why were they murdered?" Max let out before he took a sip of coffee.

"That, is why were are here, my friend. Have you noticed, that it was a Yakuza family that was murdered?" Pierce got excited, like he caught on to something.

"What? Oh. Yeah, sure, sure, sure."

"Okay, so the Yakuza obviously know about, or they will, so we wait, until there is a gang war, between the Yakuza, and the JCF, so we can get more clues, see who's in the war, ya know? Local figure heads and such."

"So, this is what we have going on. Either the JCF, or the SSH, have a need to kill the Yakuza family, (probably the JCF, since they have a rivalry). So, during the gang war, they enter and kill the family, after cutting the phone lines, cutting off their escape (luckily for the murderers the family didn't have a cell phone), while keeping them inside because of the shooting outside, they had a chance to kill them. This way, they would be killing two birds with one stone, getting a gang war done, and killing the enemy family on the same day." Max finished.

"Yep." Pierce felt satisfied.

"But, why would a Yakuza family be up here, in SSH territory?"

Pierce shrugged. "We're done here for now Max."

A scientist walked up, holding a beanie. "Lookey, lookey what I found!"

Max walked over to him. "There has to be a hair in it!" Pierce cried, "We have our murderer(s)!"

A few minutes passed, as the scientist checked the hat. "No, no hairs."

"What? How the hell can that be?" Pierce cried, angered.

"Think about it." Max suggested.

Pierce threw his arms up, "There has to be a hair, it was on his head!"

"Not if they were bald." Max pointed out.

Pierce sighed. "Okay, let's go." They walked out of the room.


	2. Joey Leone

Opening to door to the outside, Max and Pierce were both surprised by the fiercely strong and cold winds that stuck them. In the small amount of time they were inside, Liberty City had been painted a shade of gray, the sun was nowhere in sight. Before the sky was as clear as water, but now it was nothing but gray with clouds, strong cold winds, and it started to rain. Before even getting to their car, the city became soaked with rain. What a day.

They got into their warm cruiser, now soaked, the rain was washing away the blood stains from the bodies. Thousands of tiny drops hit the ground in front of them, like bombs falling from the sky. The rain was pretty heavy, but died down a little bit as they neared the station. The roads were covered in large puddles of water, sliding down the slopes of Shoreside. It seemed like enough rain to create a small flood.

Everyone on the road had their lights on, which were blurred from the wet windshield, it was almost as if it was around seven pm. The warm heater was soothing upon Max's face.

They pulled up into the parking lot, and quickly made their way inside, to get out of the rain.

As Max and Pierce came in Leon walked past them, saying a short hi. Leon was shot in a gang shoot-out, in his left lapel. He recovered, and transferred from SFPD to LCPD, he has been single all his life, and still is. He is pretty tall, has long blonde hair, a quiet voice, and is very strong. He is a respected detective, and one of Max's friends. He passed by, walking outside.

"So any news?" Phil came around a corner and asked.

Max was surprised. He explained what they think is going on.

Phil nodded, and dismissed them. Phil was all of the family Pierce had left. He was in the army reserve, in Vice City, then moved to Liberty city after his brothers plane crash. He then started working at the LCPD, and became a sergeant after a few years. It was only a year later that he finally convinced Pierce to join the LCPD, and was partnered up with Detective Payne.

Max went back to his desk, upstairs. To wait. And investigate the Jack Crime Families' history in the LCPD headquarter database. He pulled up a file on the JCF.

Basically, it said: The Jack Crime Families assembled after the imprisonment of Joey Leone. Luigi, a former member of the Leone Crime Family, was later killed, because of him contacting Joey in the jail. The Leone Crime Families had ended there, and another leading member in the Portland Mafia, Connor Jack, formed the Jack Crime Families, along with help from the LCF former member, Toni Cipriani. Now the JCF has taken over in place of the LCF, now being the most powerful gang influence in Liberty City, and Carcer City as well.

Max sighed. He put his cup of coffee down. He knew what he was getting in to.

In Staunton Island, where the JCF had the least influence, and territory. A bright yellow Mean Streets Taxi cab pulled up to a large brown, triangular shaped apartment building across the street from Belleville Park.

Joey Leone, the last member alive with the exception of Toni ,of the LCF, got out and scanned the area for any Mafia soldiers. He wondered if they knew it had already been ten years.

He picked up his bag, and walked inside the building, him getting slightly wet because of the rain. The lobby was welcoming, a nice warm air, good smell, it was nothing like prison.

Joey walked up, wearing a blue jumpsuit, to the counter. The clerk stared at a tall, slim, very buff man with a black eye, and cut under his cheek, who stood in front of him.

Prison toughened Joey out. He had worked out almost every day in there, most of the Prisoners hadn't known that the LCF was over, and were afraid of being assassinated if they messed with Joey, so they left him alone.

Joey used what little cash he had to rent a room for a few nights. The most important nights of his life. After renting the room, he rigidly walked to the elevator. As he rode up to floor 4, an old man joined him for the ride.

The entire time, Joey had a bleak look in his eyes. He almost never blinked. Under that cover, anger inside him was mounting, for the past ten years it had been. Then when Luigi was killed, because he was helping Joey, telling him what was going on, Luigi ended up in a truck of a car, sinking to the bottom of the sea, when a patrol boat spotted the car, just before it sank.

Joey bit down hard, on nothing, and tightened his fist. As he walked out of the elevator, he punched the wall, creating a loud echo heard throughout the hallway. The short old man, back in the elevator, stared at him then took a step back. The elevator doors closed.

He continued past two or three people, and came up to room 097, his room.

As he opened the door, a small living room and kitchen appeared, a few windows showed a luscious view of the wet city, and the luscious green park. He walked into the small one-person bed room, and threw his suitcase on his bed.

He only had around one hundred dollars, and he knew that in no time, there would be a bounty on his head if he were to be seen by anyone who knew him. He needed to lay-low, get strapped, and figure out what he was going to do, although he already had an idea.

The on word that had corrupted his mind was: revenge. He wanted it, bad. Needed it. It consumed him. He had no chance at it, in this point of time. He knew that Toni was now with the JCF, from what Luigi told him seven years ago. He had no chance alone, he needed a partner. He needed help.

Joey turned on the small TV in the living room, upon a nightstand. A commercial about a haircut is on. "Old Reece is down with the new city, and better than ever. Visit him on 4th street, on Staunton Island today."

_Good idea._ He though. A haircut, new clothes, some makeup, 'a disguise' was what he needed. He needed one indeed.

Although he is short on cash, Joey is ruthless. He knew a way to make a quick couple hundred dollars. Downtown Staunton Island.

Joey returned to the street, bearing a dagger. Jacking a car was easy in Liberty City. He walked, hiding under a brown coat he had, to Bedford Point, deep in the heart of Liberty.

Parked along the streets were a pack of cars. The trashy ones were going to be easer to steal. The rain had stopped falling. Clouds gave way to the sun above.

Joey found a trashy brown Kuruma, where he stood waiting by it for a few minutes, monitoring the area, keeping his head down. He studied the passersby. None seemed to notice him. No cops were around, the time was good. He quickly made his way to the car, with his dagger, made it look like he was struggling with the key. He was keeping the coat over him and the dagger, so no one would notice. It finally came unlocked. He opened the door, and plopped in the passengers seat. A voice shouted out.

"Hey! Hey! That's a, my car!" It came form the crowd. A short black haired guy ran towards the car, holding his hands up, crying out, "Stop! Stop! My car!"

He was sprinting towards the car, trying to push his way through the crowd, Joey locked the doors, and quickly used his hotwiring skills.

The owner of the vehicle made it to the car, then was struggling with a large set of keys. Joeys heart began to pound, that old rush. Finally the car started up, Joey skidded out, leaving behind skid marks, covering a few passersby with water from the road. He drove over the large, newly painted Callahan bridge.

With no encounters, Joey made it to the car lot that was near the Leone mansion. He made a quick deal with the low-life owner, scoring a small, but still enough, seven hundred bucks.

As Joey walked away, he noticed some suits down the street. He took cover behind a small concrete wall, until they passed. The JCF. Joey hastily made pace back to Staunton, walking at a fast pace the whole way. It must have been around two pm, became the sun was shining brightly above him in the air, giving light to the city and drying up the rain.

With a fat wad of eight hundred bucks in his wallet, he felt accomplished. One step closer to his revenge. A long road lay ahead of him, and he was ready to take it.

Many people looked at him, with his black eye, giving him attention that he didn't want as he made his way to 4th street, where he would go in and get his cut.

Eventually, he arrived at a small shop, in Bedford point among the busy city. A large sign said above it, in bright red letters read "Old Reece's barber" Joey smiled and walked in, Liberty City getting warmed up from the sun, as he was too.

He entered to see five chairs, set up parallel to a wall with mirrors. The radio was blastin' loud and old Reece was doing his magic. After a short wait in line joy got his hair cut short, very short. During this time, he said nothing to old Reece, except that he wanted it short.

After it was done he was itchy, but satisfied with the results. He had already become a different person than before. His hair used to be pretty long, and gelled back, now it was short, and needed no gel. He paid the old man fifteen bucks, and exited the shop.

The next objective was to get strapped. He walked among groups of ignorant people, making his way towards the overrated gun shop called Ammu-Nation, past his apartment building. As he entered, an unpleasant smell offended him, but he ignored it, passing by the NRA freaks, and the crazy war veterans who were obsessed that the world was coming to an end, and end of war.

One was smoking a cigarette, Joey had taken up smoking in prison, which reminded him that he needed to buy a pack of those. After spending about five minutes browsing the weapon selection, Joey just picked up a Glock, and two clips, coming to around one hundred and fifty dollars. Pretty cheap.

He then exited, back into the busy, loud city. Right before his eyes, a man got hit by a taxi cab, reminding him of the old days. The old days when he worked with his father, the old days when Toni was one of his best friends, the old days that he wished could stay the same forever.

Ignoring the accident, and abandoning his thought, he walked down the street a bit, and entered a seven-eleven. Spending about fifty bucks in their, he bought a few beers, packs of gum, three packs of cigarettes, a lighter, and some hot pockets that he could cook in the microwave.

He exited the store carrying two bags full of food. He lit up a cigarette, and continued past various streets, to the apartment building he way staying at. He once again got in the elevator, and rode up to his floor. As soon as he was back in his apartment it was a little after five. He threw the stuff on the bed, and got out another cigarette. He laid down upon a couch, and watched TV. What was his next step now?

He still needed to get some new threads, but he would do that tomorrow, he wanted to rest, for the rest of the day. He opened up a beer, and eventually passed out, watching Prehistoric Park, on JBO.


	3. Claude Speed

Claude Speed owns most of Liberty City. He had a rare and relatively new virus that none new about, which prevented him from speaking. In early 2005, this unnamed virus was treated, and he can now speak, although he has sort of adapted to not speaking, so he doesn't' speak but rarely. In 1993, Claude had a girlfriend who he married, but divorced but a few months after the wedding. He now lives alone, taking care of business in Liberty City, and is constantly protecting his LC businesses from rival gang attacks. Claude still wore his traditional gelled up hair, leather jacked, and green cargo pants.

The date was October 28th, 2008. Claude had just got done with a "business deal" The time was eleven thirty-seven pm. Claude sped through the new housing development in the hills of Shoreside Vale, above Cedar Grove. This development continued for less than a mile, into the forest upon a mountain side. Beyond which is Carcer City.

Claude was comfortably adjusted to the Euros he was driving. He dodged people, cars, and any other obstacles, as he drove down a hill, slightly catching air, taking a hard right, heading over the Cochrane Dam. The radio station beat loud in his car, neon lights lit up the dashboard.

Rise FM was fitting to his high speed racing through Shoreside. He was currently in second place, after the "business deal" The car drifted around the corner past the hospital, causing passersby to look on in amazement. Everything was a blur from Claude's view. Lights from other cars passed by him in a flash as he sped by, heading towards Francis International.

Up the ramp he went, now on the lift bridge, the bell started to ring. In his rear view mirror, two rivals were tailing him, coming up fast.

As he passed by the lift area, he knew he was safe. Claude glanced back again, one rival made it, then the bridge started to lift up. The sound of crushing metal and shattering glass followed by an explosion signaled that the other didn't make it, as the bridge started to lift up.

Now about 15 feet in the air, Claude sped off the side, preparing himself for a rough landing. He was jolted up as his car hit the ground. Still following him, his rival made it off after him.

He sped around the coil of the Lift Bridge, and onto the road heading south. His rival tailed him from here, around Belleville Park, and back towards the lift bridge. The guy in first was visible now, five cars ahead of Claude. He reached ninety-seven mph as he started to slow down to drive up the bridge.

Again, the bell started to ring. This time, Claude caught up to the guy in first, and passed him, heading for Francis. He neared the lift area, it was going to be close.

As his heart raced, his head said no, and Claude smashed down on the breaks, skidding along the road, to a halt, in front of the lift area just as it lifted up. The two rivals skidded to a halt as well nearly bumping into Claude. They arranged themselves for a speedy take off.

Now came a few moments of waiting. The three cars were parked, waiting for the bridge to return to normal. The drivers examined each other. One was a blonde, and taunted Claude. Laughing to himself, Claude flipped him off.

Staying still, their cars growled at each other, as the drivers pushed on the gas. The bridge returned, and they took of in a dash again. This time, Claude was in the lead, they saw the other racer's car on fire on the other side of the bridge. Only two more turns left, the it's over.

The three cars constantly changing places. They sped straight on the same road, heading uphill. They came up to the cliff before the dam, and sped by it. All three cars touched, as each of them drifted around the corner, back onto Cochrane Dam. The last turn was ahead, before the tunnel, to the left.

Claude was smashed by the blonde once or twice, he almost lost control. The blond guy was on his left, the passed through traffic. The turn was coming up fast. Claude used the P.I.T. maneuver to force the blonde racer into a Mule truck, creating an accident, metal bits and pieces flew all over the dam as the hit.

Claude and the last racer were neck and neck, as they both took the turn. Claude took the turn sharper than his rival did, which cost him speed, but gave him first place. Unable to control his car, the rival bumped into Claude's Euros, giving him a boost.

The race was just about over as Claude stayed in the lead, for the final uphill stretch. Claude passed the finish line, and did a one-eighty drift to a stop, his rival right behind him.

The rival got out of his car, frustrated, throwing his hands up in anger and grief. He wore a whit tank top, and grey pants. "I can't believe this shit, homes. Okay, okay, you won fair and square, 'Claude', but this is not the last you'll see of me." The Mexican handed Claude four grand in cash. "By the way, homes, nice driving."

Claude nodded, and waved goodbye. The Mexican started to get into his car, which looked like a Lowrider with NOS, and finally shouted, "This is not the last you'll see of Cesar Vialpando!" He waved to Claude, and Claude waved back.

Claude took his money, and drove toward his mansion, the large red one he stole from the Columbian Cartel, who he wiped off the Liberty City map back in early 2005.

Claude had a sudden change of mind, as he desired fast food. Claude never at any of his homes, even if he had a chef, he would still prefer fast food. Looking at his military watch, it read 00:23. Him winning the race put him in a good mood, it was the most fun thing to do in LC, beside hookers.

Claude drove southwest, across the bridge, to Pike Creek, where he stopped at a newly build Punk Noodles twenty four hour fast food restaurant. He parked his precious green Euros in the parking lot and got out.

The night air was cold, Liberty City seemed darker than usual. As late as the hour is, the city was still filled with pedestrians and traffic, although it was lighter now than it is around noon.

He entered the door to the smell of chicken, noodles, and pork. These smells greeted him, and he liked it. He stood in line, waiting for the person in front of him to get done ordering. The Chinese guy at the counter, as well as the rest of the employees, wore white pants, a light blue shirt, and a pure white apron. His hair was spiked, Claude like it.

"You, you, what you order?" He asked. Claude examined the list above. He held up his fingers 'number 3' and 'number 7'

The clerk pressed buttons on the register, which beeped, and gave a receipt. "Twelve dollar. Twelve dollar. Thank you, come again."

Claude handed him the cash, then received the Noodles and pork he ordered. Claude took out his book, which he always carried around with him called Fame or Fugitive and sat down near the window, and started reading it.

Eventually he finished his meal, and noticed it was almost one-thirty am. He glanced around, noticing he was the only one in the restaurant. He dumped his trash, put his book back in his large pocket, and used the super-clean restroom. That was one thing Claude liked about this Punk Noodles, and why it is his favorite restaurant, it is clean.

After he finished his business, he walked outside. The sky was coffee black, the stars shining 'like diamonds on velvet.' Claude noticed a short black guy to his left, with a spray can, about to spray graffiti on the new Punk Noodles, welcoming them to the neighborhood. Almost every building in Shoreside Vale had graffiti on them. Claude, feeling desperation for one clean building, sprinted towards the man.

The man turned, in shock, as Claude tackled him to the ground, letting about a furry of punches, followed by a few kicks. He was out cold. Claude didn't even get punched. He then took his pink spray can, and flipped the black guy on his stomach, and wrote "PRICK" on his back. He then tossed the can into the darkness of an alley, and got back into his Euros.

Claude sped home, swerving in and out of traffic. He drove towards his mansion.

As Claude neared it, he spotted a very large group of men, who seemed to be separated into two groups. Claude knew it was trouble, they were only about a hundred feet away from his property. Claude parked his car, to see what happens.

A series of gunshots rang out, men form both sides are dropping, no pedestrians or traffic in sight. Four vans pull up, men filtered out. Now a select few of them fall fast, all of the men load up into the vans, and drive off, some heading towards Claude, who ducked to not be spotted as a witness to this war.

Knowing the cops would be there in a bit, sirens were already ringing out into the darkness of the sky. Claude wasn't going to stay in Shoreside tonight, he drove off, over the Shoreside Lift Bridge, to Staunton Island, where he parked his car at his old dead friend Asuka's condo, which he now owned.

On the top floor, he could see the buildings from which a long time ago, he had a confrontation in. The building was finished, but back then, it wasn't. It was just being worked on, and in there was where his friend Asuka Kassen, was killed, and the dipshit Miguel was stabbed by Catalina.

That was the old times, his mind pondered the times back then, and how things changed. It was a better life now, but shit never ends. Claude started to daydream. Remembering how he killed Asuka's brother, Kenji. He laughed. Kanji was a prick.

He turned around, and started to watch TV. He popped open a beer, and drank himself to sleep.

In the morning he awoke to gunfire. _Not again. This always happens._ Claude thought. He looked out the window. His men were being gunned down by some men in Hawaiian shirts, and beige pants. One was wearing a blue shirt with palm trees on it.

Claude gathered up some men, and grabbed an M4, and some armour from his gun safe. He took the elevator down to the bottom level, loading up his gun. Some screams were heard, not just of yelling, but screams of those who were shot, and dying. Now on the ground level, Claude ordered his men to set up on different floors, at different windows.

Because his enemies men were out in the open, they were forced back by Claude's heavy suppressive fire. The road was now littered with bodies, the sun shining down on them. The attackers were hiding behind cars, which were turning grey with bullet holes.

Claude aimed for the gas tank. One car exploded, taking out a whole group of them, creating smoke and fire, which would attract police attention. They both knew it was over. The man in the light blue palm tree shirt, who seemed to be the leader yelled, "It's not over, Claude! We will be back!"

Claude examined the group of men, as they were leaving. One was standing beside the leader. "That's right, were gonna be back, asshole!" he shouted very fast, in a deeper, quick voice. He had a mustache, and hair than went down to his neck, wearing a hat. In less then a few minutes, they were gone.

In less than five minutes, the weather went from sunny and clear as water to could and rainy as hell. Claude laughed again. _Well that takes car of the blood._ he thought.

Claude ordered his men to get rid of the bodies outside, and lock up the weapons before the cops came, in the mean time, Claude walked outside to his car. "BITCH!" he shouted, finding three grey bullet holes on the hood.

He sighed, now he has to go fix this. Yet another typical Liberty City day. He might as well go get it fixed now. Claude drove off, towards the nearest Pay N' Spray, where he would get his car repaired.


	4. Action in the First Degree

"Say hello to my little friend!" The TV was on in the other room, as Max stood above his sink, brushing his teeth. The cinnamon flavored toothpaste was very refreshing. He then fixed his hair the way he liked it. The date is November first, a little after twelve am. The phone rang, Max finished what he was doing and walked into his living room without any shirt on to pick it up.

"Yeah?" Max answered the phone.

A familiar voice answered, "Yo! Payne? What up?"

"Hey, Pierce, nothing."

"Yeah, sorry to call so early."

"No, it's okay, I was awake."

"At this hour? Why?"

"That's when I get up."

"Oh. Anyway, um, Leon, my man, he was in Portland doin' his thang, and he, he overheard a, JCF member talk about a fight with the uh… Yakuza! That's right, in Harwood, on that large, grassy area North in Portland, that they uh, have started construction on for the new offices. Ya know?"

"Yeah, I know."

"So, uh, he said we should, ah, go check it out. You dig?"

"Sure."

"Okay Max."

"Next up: Liberty After Dark." A commercial was on the TV, followed by moans of pleasure.

"Max, the hell ya watchin'?"

"It's just a commercial, I'm watching **Scarface**."

"Oh, okay. So you uh?"

"Yes, I'll be over there in a bit."

"Uhuh, 'aight, see ya man."

"Bye." Max hung up the phone, the TV caught his attention.

Music played and it showed a man in a firefight, the a narrator spoke, with a really deep voice: "Jason Chan is a young Triad. After his father is killed, he vows to gain revenge on the Mafia. On his way, he will meet old and new friends in an attempt that will take him across America to avenge his family…" It showed a close up of Jason. "_Little did he know, there was a bomb, in his shoe_." Then came a loud explosion, the screen said in text: '**Paths of Revenge**' coming December 08 to a theatre near you.

Max raised an eyebrow. "Hmm… Looks good."

He got a cup of coffee, then got ready to leave. He took the elevator down, and ended up outside, beside his car, which was a beautiful blue Windsor, and Max loved it. A few moments passed, and Max had traveled form his apartment in Staunton, to Wichita Gardens, where Pierce's apartment is.

Max got out, walking to the elevator holding his cup of coffee, and took it up to Pierce's apartment. As Max walked up to the wooden door, he could hear music coming form inside; "Welcome to the Jungle, we've got fun and games."

He knocked three times before Pierce answered. The door opened slowly, Pierce was dressed, holding a bowl of soup, "Yo Max!"

Max nodded and said, "Pierce."

Pierce took a few second swallowing, "So what's up Max?"

"Not much? Mind if I fill up my coffee?" Max held out his mug that said, looked at Max, "Yeah, sure, it's in the kitchen."

After filling up his coffee, Max commented, "You should clean up your apartment."

"Hey! Don't diss my digs man." Pierce replied, solemnly.

They hung out for a while, talking about the case, until it was around two am.

"Okay, we should get going." max said, he walked out the door.

"Okay, I'll be there in a sec!"

Max was now out in his Windsor, waiting for Pierce. He sighed, as it was taking too long.

Eventually, he walked out, holding two coffee mugs, "You forgot you mug, I filled it up for you."

"Cool, thanks." Max took a large drink. They took a calm drive over to SVPD, not much traffic out, but there was some. When they got to the precinct, they spent about an hour inside, taking care of business. After three am, they got in their patrol car.

As they drove to Harwood, Max driving as always, they listened to the radio: "Ah shit! Darren just ate forty-five doughnuts!" a black guy said

"Really? Holy shit!" Another officer responded.

This made Pierce laugh, Max looked over at him, and took another sip of his coffee. Slowly, the sky became lighter, traffic gradually increased, more people awoke to become pedestrians.

As Max was concentrating on the road, he heard some noises. "What's that? Did you hear it?"

"Hear what?" Pierce replied.

Max looked over at him, holding a PSP2. "Oh my god, you're not serious."

"Shut up man! I'm trying to concentrate! Ah! Shit! I just got killed!"

"What are you playing?"

"It's, uh… called, **Gang Warfare.**"

"Oh."

They finally arrived at Harwood. The day slowly passed as they waited there for at least two hours! Max was getting frustrated. It was almost getting bright and sunny. The morning was cold.

The Harwood office development consisted of three unfinished buildings, on was about eight stories tall, the faming still visible, as only half of the building was covered by the green plastic covering. Another one was almost finished, two stories, completely brown, with some of the roof missing. The last building was finished, and just needed to be painted, a series of one story offices. An area was cleared out, through the set of buildings, for a road. The big building had a small courtyard, metal planks, tools, stacks of wood, a concrete fountain, and a Panlantic Construction (under new management) van was parked out on the unfinished dirt road.

The time came upon seven-thirty am. Max was sleeping, and he didn't even know it. A sudden noise woke him up: "What the hell!"

Max jumped, noticing he was sleeping. "What?"

"I frickin' died. AGAIN!"

"Calm down, man. Or I'll _make _you calm down." Max threatened, then laughed.

"Fine." Pierce turned of his game. "So, uh, Max. Anyone arrive?"

Max was dumbfounded. "Uh… I was… sleeping." He admitted.

"Oh… I see…" Followed by a few minutes of silence, a solid black Patriot pulled up. Max positioned the car out of sight, back by the ocean, they used binoculars to see what was going on.

From this position, four clean cut men, in black suits, with ties stepped out. They walked to the back of the Patriot, and picked up a few modified M4's. _They had scopes on them._

The four me disappeared behind the two story building, heading towards the commercial building (the 8 story one). Three minutes passed, and two Black Yosemite truck pulled up, each with some more black suites, two in the seats, four in the back, each bearing MP5's, and who knows what else. The last Mafia car to pull up was a Black Rumpo Van. Only four men got out, two of whom had boxes. They started to open one up in plain sight.

_Oh my god, they're going to set bombs._

"We need backup." Max ordered, reaching for the radio. "This is car 52, requesting for backup. Over." Nobody answered.

"I repeat, this is car 52, requesting for backup!" The radio must have been out. "Damn! They must have a wave blocker." A wave block was illegally invented in 2006, which allows the owner to alter the radio waves coming from any radio, CB or anything else, thus making them not be able to contact HQ."

"Let's go." Pierce suggested.

"No, this is our chance. Our chance to find out more, if we leave, we'll be back to step one."

"What are we on? Step two"

Max made a face, "This is our chance." Max pointed towards the L train. "Keep an eye out around here. Make sure nobody else is watching." Max opened the door.

"Where are you going?"

"To get a closer, look, and to stop the bombs."

"You're not on the bomb squad."

More cars pulled up, a few Mafia Sunrise. The Mafia soldiers got into positions, they were wearing vests. A line of five Primos drove up, all grey. They parked behind the one-story offices. 20 Yakuza soldiers got out, you could tell they were wearing vests. Each of them dressed the same, grey pants, and black button up silk shirts. They were bearing AK's, SOCOM pistols, and a few Uzi 9mm's.

They were about to confront each other, when a Yakuza fell, subject to a sniper bullet. Max and Pierce's eyes drew right the L Tran. A few Mafia snipers were upon it.

Having no chance to hit the snipers, the Yakuza circled around the building, into the road before the commercial building. Max and Pierce jumped as a sniper bullet crashed through the windshield, shattering it.

"Oh my-"

"Come on! They know we're here!" Max ordered. They had to make a dash for the enclosure of buildings, to avoid the snipers. As they neared the enclosure, gun shots rang out, constantly, one ever half second, never ending. There were shout outs in Italian and Japanese. Max and Pierce made it without being shot.

Before them lay the court yard, around the corner, where a few bodies were found. Grabbing his Beretta, Max ran into the chaos, in the rear of the Yakuza group, dodging the bullets that flew over him. The ground was covered in small holes, most of the shots were missing. Max his behind a block of metal planks. Bullets ricocheted off of them, hitting a Yakuza in the back.

Max hadn't felt a rush like this in years.

Pierce eventually made his way to Max, who spotted some Mafia soldiers coming from behind him, to flank the Yakuza, who have taken cover behind the many objects in the courtyard, some retreating into the two-story building to the left of the courtyard, still safe form the Mafia snipers south, upon the L train.

"Who the fuck?" a Mafia shoulder cried pointed at Max.

He and Pierce fired at the group of Mafia, two or three flopped to the ground, like rag dolls. "Run!" Max ordered Pierce, as if in bullet time, Max saw bullets zooming past him and Pierce, who were heading for the two-story building. As they entered, they were greeted by more gunshots, as three Yakuza screamed in enmity. Max dove through the air, shooting all three during his short flight.

They fell backwards hitting a wall, then tumbling to the ground. Gunshots were still ringing out, "Grab one!" Max pointed to their AK's.

Now armed with heavier fire power, Max took point from a window. The room was basically a square, empty except for three bodies, and a square staircase leading upwards.

From the window view, only 12 bodies were out in the courtyard, some Mafia, some Yakuza, lights of yellow were coming from the commercial building, followed by gun shots. Some Yakuza were still being attacked in the courtyard.

As max shot at the commercial building, a few Mafia soldiers fell out of it, bouncing off the ground as they hit. They were all on floors seven and eight. The gunshots slowed down, as most of them were dead.

"What the hell is that?" Max shouted. A small green ball of death flew through the window that Max stood at. "Go! Go! Now!" Pierce and Max ran up stairs, as the room shook by the small explosion, leaving a black mark from where it blew up.

Now on floor two, they were visible from the snipers because half of the wall wasn't finished, along with to roof. They had to crawl. Max reloaded his AK with his last clip as he leaned up against the wall. There was a hole where a window should go, giving an even better view of the few remaining soldiers in the court yard. Max picked them off.

A helicopter spotted his attention, south, landing on the one-story offices. A large figure appeared. _Toni!_

"Freeze!" a Japanese voice shouted, behind Max and Pierce. They turned, dropping their weapons, to see four Yakuza, holding them up, anxious to pull the trigger. He spoke in Japanese.

One of them fell to headless the ground, after a loud noise. They turned, a man dressed in grey pants, a long sleeved grey shirt, wearing a black vest. He had short hair, and a slight black eye, holding two sawn off shotguns.

Before the Yakuza could squeeze their triggers and eliminate him, the man blasted another Yakuza's chest out. Bullets shot over his head as he dropped to the ground, blasting the two remaining soldiers in the stomachs, dead. He stood up. The area was now covered in blood, shotguns were messy. The snipers were gone.

Max grabbed an Uzi 9mm, and some clips off the dead Yakuza, "Who the fuck are you?" Pierce demanded to know.

"Joey Leone. You needed help." He replied, swiftly, using hand gestures.

"Right, you saved our lives, what do you want?" said Max.

"You know I was betrayed, right?" They continued to talk over a few gunshots.

"Yes. I want to help you, take down Toni. I know he had something to do with the murders. _I know it._"

"Okay, let's go, before we all die." Pierce suggested. Joey ran down the stairs, yelling "Meet me at Belleville park tomorrow!" he was gone.

A beeping caught Max's attention. _The bombs._ "Crap! Run!." It got too fast, they sprinted downstairs, heading for the door, Pierce made it out, Max headed for the window.

The building crumbled in the explosion, blasting max through the window, smoke created a cloak for them. Max was in pain, not too bad though. He landed on concrete, some wood spread over his body. The sound of the helicopter disappeared, as the gunfire did too. Some yakuza were still shouting.

Max got up, behind him, was fire. He couldn't see through the blinding smoke, and began to cough. "P-Pierce!"

No answer.

Another explosion followed, shaking the ground. Some Yakuza screamed bloody murder. Just as the smoke began to clear, dust covered the area, sirens in the background, slowly increasing in noise level. Fire roared loudly in the background. A building must have crumbled, judging by the loud noise.

The last explosion blew Max back to the ground as the courtyard blew up. Piping, wood, pieces of concrete, and metal planks all covered the area. It was a miracle max survived.

Minutes later, Max stood up, his head aching bad. He was covered in dust, and concrete. It took almost every ounce of his strength to stand up, pushing the dirt concrete off of his body. The dust was settling, people were everywhere.

"We have a survivor!" A man in yellow shouted. The next thing max knew was that he was exiting the hospital, after a checkup, having a hard time seeing clearly. He was heading towards SVPD in a Taxi. He had no idea where Pierce was.

He had a stare the entire way there. Where is Pierce? He just crossed the bridge to Shoreside Vale.


	5. Leon Kennedy

Leon Kennedy drove quietly through Shoreside. It was around seven am. There was a call for a homicide at an apartment in Saint Marks, Portland. He brought a boom box, because LCPD doesn't allow radios to be installed in their squad cars. The ride was relatively calm, all the way from Pike Creek, to the Callahan Bridge, which has been destroyed eight times since 1978. At this time, driving across that bridge practically meant risking your life.

The boom box was blasting, "Somebody Told Me" by The Killers, on Head Radio. Leon sang along as he neared Saint Marks, heading uphill, under the L train.

"I've got potential just rushin' a rushin' aroooouuunnnnd!" He screamed. Leon took a quick drink of his Sprunk.

"This is Michael Hunt, still on the radio! You can't get rid of me! Coming up next is Simple Plan! On Head Radio."

Leon yawned as he drove to the apartment, listening to ridiculous radio commercials while driving up the sloped road. As he got out, a Taxi sped past him, nearly hitting him. Leon fell back and spilled his soda all over himself. "The hell?" He screamed at the Taxi, waving his fist at it as it disappeared down the hill.

"HAHA! You peed you pants!" A bum said, walking by.

Leon ignored him, and started drying himself off with some paper towels he had in his glove compartment. The sound of the train rang loud as it passed by, catching Leon's attention.

Two black suites walked by as Leon was cleaning himself off in the passenger seat.

"So, we're gonna kick some ass tomorrow. Down in Harwood, that fuckin construction is going to be history."

"I know, Steve! Quit bragging, just because Leo chose you doesn't mean you better than me!"

"You wanna come over for dinner? Real good meat sauce, like blood."

They walked out of hearing distance. Leon stared at them for a while. _JCF? That's odd. I gotta remember to tell Payne and Pierce._ He got out, and went into the apartment.

The rest of his day passed slowly, as he took care of his work, and when it finally ended at four thirty, he was ready to head home and crash. He retrieved his car at the precinct, and drove to his apartment in Staunton Island.

He slept on the couch with the TV on, and readied himself for tomorrow, repeating his day-to-day pattern of work, eat sleep, work etc. Leon didn't have anything better to do. His days consisted of basically going to work, eating out in town or home, possibly watching a movie, then going to bed.

He had a girlfriend, but was recently dumped because he was "to linear" One of these days he planned to move to wonderful Carcer City, where the crime rate isn't half is bad as Liberty's.

He awoke in his sleep by a gunshot. He was still drowsy, but he got up and wondered around his small apartment, looking for his watch after he practically fell over a few times. After the brief five minutes of searching, he gave up, and just checked on his computer. _Note to self: Buy a clock._ he wrote on a sticky note.

It was almost eleven o'clock. He was tried, could barely keep his eyes open, but for some reason he couldn't get back to sleep. He decided to get his stuff ready for work. As he checked his clothes, the thought popped in his head about that gang thing he heard earlier. Leon had lost Max's phone number days ago, so he decided to call Pierce. He ran over to his bedroom, and hopped over the bed, as if in an action movie, and he was being fired at.

He dialed his number. After it rang three times, Pierce picked up, sounding drowsy, "What?"

"Pierce, is Leon."

"Leon… my man, what up?" He sounded drowsy.

"I was in Portland doing my thing, you know, and I overheard two JCF's talking smack to each other, about a fight in Harwood, at the construction sight."

"Really dawg? Thanks, I'll tell Max. We'll give it a looksey."

"Okay, I' gotta go, sorry if I woke you."

"No problem man."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Leon hung up the phone. He finished getting ready for work, and ate a bowl of cereal. He then headed back to the bed, and 'crashed.' This time he slept like a baby.

He awoke to his annoying alarm clock. His hand automatically launched it across the room, creating an ear shattering boom against the wall. A few pictures fell of the wall, but the alarm stopped. He groaned as he got up. It was time to go back to work already? That went by quick.

In a matter of a few minutes, he was ready to go. It didn't take Leon long to get ready, he mostly fixes his hair, brushes his teeth, and eats breakfast at the precinct.

Leon found himself at the desk of his computer, after eleven a.m. typing up a report on the homicide. Leon was not generally good with words, his first line read "This case is a homicide, a man died but a gun."

He looked at his writing an laughed, "God I suck!" he said enthusiastically. A hot officer named Jennifer walked by. Leon stuck his hand out and snapped, "Jennifer over hear."

She gave him a hug as she usually does, but then Leon asked, "So, uh, you wasn't another fifty bucks?"

"Umm…. Sure, I could use a new haircut." She responded, a smile on her face. He handed her the evidence files, and she went to work. It was as if she were racing to type, the keys seemed to be pressed none stop, one continuous sound of key chattering.

Meanwhile, Leon went to the bathroom with his briefcase and brushed his teeth, took care of his shaving, hair, etc.

By the time he came out, a few minutes passed. Jennifer handed him a file, with a smile on her face. Leon replied to her with a smile, she walked off. He returned to his desk, in a good mood. This was going to be great day.

"Kennedy!" A voice shouted out. _Ah crap! _Leon thought. "Kennedy! My office! Now!" Leon walked over to a door, through the glass, Phil sat in his chair, taking a bite of his hamburger.

As he entered, the ground shifted under him. Cups fell of desks, computers shook, hanging lights swayed, people all over lost their balance. Leon lost his footing during this, and fell to the ground, landing hard on his right arm. A painting above him fell off the wall.

People screamed in the background, some were rushing under doorways, while others hid under their desks. Leon took cover under the doorway to Phil's office, as Phil did too. Within a few more seconds, the shaking was over.

Phones rang hectically. People were running all around the station, each concentrating on something different.

"Holy shit." Leon commented, closing the door.

"Earthquake?" Phil said, "That was pretty strong, knocked my computer off my desk. At least it is still on."

"What did you want sir."

"Well."

"I swear, I wrote it."

Phil raised a brow. "Okay, I um, was just going to tell you that you have been transferred."

Leon was awe-struck. "What? Why?"

"Because LSPD has lost eight detectives in the last four days."

"Los Santos? No way, not San An!"

"You know you have to go." People were rushing around behind them, visible through the window. Another loud bang startled the two, shaking the building vigorously.

Leon looked down at the floor. Him mind flourishing with thoughts. He decided to drop it all. His old friend might still live in Los Santos, maybe he could bunk with him. Leon looked back up, a sort of evil look in his eye, a signal about what he was going through. Leon didn't need this, he loved Liberty, and if he wanted to go anywhere, it would be Carcer City. _DAMN IT! _He thought

"Goodbye. I'll be back for everything else." Leon stated.

Leon left, out to his car, he walked with rage in his steps, he was almost stomping.

He drove through the forsaken part of Liberty City, Shoreside Vale, in which cars were wrecked everywhere, trash dotted the city. A few buildings were leaning, they looked ready to collapse, others were broken in to, the windows busted out, cars crashed into them, some on fire. The sky was completely grey, with smoke, or maybe dust. He turned on the radio, to see what was going on.

"Hi, I'm DJ Michael Hunt, and you're listening to Head Radio. Here now, I am required to inform you on the news, so here is Dwayne Lyte with the news." There was a quick sound of cluttering over the radio.

"Hi, I'm Dwayne Lyte, and I am here to inform you about the earthquake, a 7.3 on the Richter scale, about 83 miles off the coast of Liberty, A Tsunami warning is in effect. If you are not in the 'safe zone' please follow the police units out of the area in an orderly fashion. On-" Leon turned it off.

"Holy SHIT!" Leon couldn't stop himself from shouting. He stopped the car and got out, to take a better look. In front of him he was staring at an amazing sight. A sight not only of sight and sound, but of mind. His mind was going crazy. How could an earthquake do that? But mainly the words: _Oh My God._

Not able to drive any further because of the enormous amount of pedestrians, he walked a ways, until he came to the front of the Shoreside Lift bridge, at the ramp. Leon stared into the tunnel, down into it a bit. Cement was spread around loosely, which made Leon slip a bit. By the time he got down deep enough, he came to dead end. Water, the tunnel was filled with water.

Random pieces of trash, cups, a car door, and about three bodies floated around in the unlit navy blue water. Leon covered his mouth, he was almost about to vomit. He stumbled a bit, while trying to get out of the tunnel. He made a mad dash for his car. His heart jumped as he lost his footing and plowed straight into the ground, over a bunch of glass.

After laying for a second or two, he spit dust out of his mouth, and punched the ground with his fists, "Damn it!" Leon stood up, and dusted himself off. A slight amount of pain drew from his face. He must have gotten cut by the glass.

He walked from there on, passing by people every two seconds, sirens rang in the background, this was a big tragedy. Bigger than almost any of Liberty's others. Leon was pushed, him being in a angry state, he turned around, drawing his fist. Not seeing who it was he put all of his force into the punch.

It stopped, up against his hand. Leon realized who it was, standing in front of him, covered in dust, and what looked like a gunshot wound to the left of his ribs, maybe it was a scratch. The man stood tall, strong, and was holding a pump action shotgun.

"M-Max." said Leon.

"Take me to the station. Now." He ordered, looking Leon in the eye.

Leon nodded, they got into his car and drove that way.

Leon desperately wanted to ask Max what happened., but he was to afraid. Max looked pissed off, anger in his eyes. _Why does he have to be like this? _Leon thought.

Looking over at Max, it looked like he had a frown on his face. _God, I wonder what happened. It that a gunshot? Hmm…_

Leon pulled up to the station, after that short ride. Max got out of the car aggressively, Leon followed him inside.

Time stopped for a second.

A loud explosion made everyone around the area gasp, Leon felt the heat behind him and dived to the ground. Max shouted "Everyone DOWN!" as he too, dived to the ground, aiming his shotgun at the fire. Behind them.

A car had flames bearing ten feet in the sky. That was what exploded. Max studied the area, that parking lot was reserved… Max was shocked, _Oh my god, That was-_


	6. Action in the Second Degree

The sun slowly awoke the city as Joey Leone prepared himself to do something that was going to take all of his courage, he had to be brave. His new threads, glasses, beard, and hair style disguised himself very well. He toughly examined himself for flaws, anything that would make the Mafia suspect him.

The radio said that it was November first, five am, and the sun was already starting to peek over the horizon of water. A nice acoustic song was easing Joey's thoughts. His black eye was almost completely gone, an extremely light shade of grey was all that was left.

Joey made his way downstairs, to his ghetto-brown-Kuruma car. Every time he entered it, a stench of 'oldness' offended him. In an attempt to counter the offensive smell, he sprayed some of the 'new car smell' spray all over. That would help, at least a bit.

The car moved smoothly, and slowly through Liberty, amongst the blue shaded cars and people. The air became frosty cold, he could see his breath inside the car. With no heating, that's the price he paid for stealing a 'shit-car' as he referred to it.

As he neared the Callahan bridge, he spotted a couple kissing passionately on the sidewalk, amongst other passers-by. Joey stared at them for a few seconds, briefly thinking about the "good times" when he had Misty. _Misty. God, she was great. _Misty had been offed but only two days after Joey was sent to prison.

They snuck in and had someone stab her, while the other recorded it on camera, after which the beat the shit out of her, for at least a half an hour. After that they put her bloody bruised body in the back of a car, and drove it to the crusher in Harwood. They sent the tape to Joey, in prison, most of the tape was just a movie called, '**Vertical Bird?**' recorded on JBO, but at the end recorded over the movie was the murdering of Misty.

_Those bitches. _"God! DAMN IT!" Joey punched the dashboard, making it cave in over the glove compartment. He let out a brief laugh and kept driving.

He began driving North on Portland, heading towards Saint Marks. As he neared the Mafia's territory, something dawned on him… _No… way… _His stomach was growling. He had forgotten to eat.

_Oh well, I don't need food. Many people have gone days without food, I'll be alright._

He had entered Saint Marks, mysterious suits passed him. Joey nervously and quietly drove through. Beads of perspiration slid down the side of his face. The suits took a look at him, but then dismissed him as an every-day individual.

Joey slowly neared what was, or used to be, Mamma's restaurant. Having no clue what happened, it was now just a restaurant. What seemed like waves of Mafia men patrolled the area, each packing an automatic M4, others with MPG's.

Joey parked the car but half a block away. He anxiously locked his door, and blended in with the crowd and he made his way towards the restaurant. It was now just across the street. What could he do now? He can't kill anybody, because they would go after him and hunt him down. _I need to see what's going on._

As a pedestrian opened a door to the apartment complex, Joey slipped inside with him. The smell was bad enough, but rats scurried along the floors as well. The walls were puke brown, with tears in them everywhere, some even had holes directly into ones apartment. The floor was wood, a very dark brown covered in trash, rats, old food, and dust.

Joey made his way up the faulty steps, not saying a word, nor making any noises. By the time he got to the third floor, he thought he would have a good enough view from there. He crept down the puke colored hallway, and took a look out of a broken window.

He counted three suites out front on the sidewalk, who seemed to be just walking, but mysteriously were staying around the restaurant. Two more were in the small alley to the stairway, four were sitting at the tables, while the last two guarded each side of the door. _Who the hell would want to eat at a restaurant with all those suites there? You'd have to be crazy!_

There wasn't much Joey could do for now, just wait. A large figure exited the restaurant dressed in an expensive tux, holding a cell phone. Toni.

Joey desperately tried to listen in, over the chatter of pedestrians, humming and honking of cars, sirens in the background, and the occasional gunshot. Not getting much, the only word Joey managed to lip read was "okay."

As Joey scanned the area, an unusually black (possibly armored?) Mafia Sentinel pulled up, Toni and a few suites got in. This was Joey's chance, to trail them, and see what was happening.

As he Rushed back to his car, Joey ran into a few pedestrians, while dodging others. As started his car up, and kept his distance from the coal-black Sentinel. He trailed them form the restaurant to Portland Harbor, with no encounters. He parked the car at the entrance and grabbed his new binoculars form the back seat, which was next to a large box.

Zooming in on the situation, Joey spotted a Maverick helicopter in the distance. A black Patriot, a green Bobcat, and the Black Sentinel dotted the harbor. Men also stood around the chopper. Two suites and Toni loaded up and took off. The sky was getting brighter buy the minute, as the air got colder.

The helicopter soared above him, as he hid in his car. He would have to trail the chopper, he _had _to find out where it was going. With no time to loose, he hopped into his car and sped off. Luckily for him, there were no cops around, as he did thirty miles over the speed limit and glided past cars over sidewalks and grass. He had a hard time seeing the chopper above, through the L Train track, but Joey kept heading towards Luigi's club, past the Subway.

Eventually, he came out to the large grassy area, an stopped the car as the helicopter slowed down. Gun shots poisoned the air, as if in a real war. This was it. Hopefully if Joey got into a firefight, the Mafia would not recognize him, hopefully they would not hunt him down.

He drove past the set of new buildings, where all of the action was happening. An army of cars and men surrounded the buildings, bullets streamed past each side of the courtyard. Hopefully not being seen, Joey sped over behind the commercial building.

After he turned off the car, he quickly put on the bullet proof vest he had in the back seat. After strapping it on, he took out the large box, and carefully opened it to reveal two vintage sawn-off shotguns, with a box of thirty-six shells. He loaded them up, and was ready to go.

Hiding behind his glasses, he cautiously made his way, hugging the buildings wall, heading east. His goal was to find out why the cop car he got a glimpse of on his way in was there, or rather, "who was in the cop car."

The courtyard was just ahead, ricocheting bullets flew by, followed by the constant chatter of gunfire. A small, brown, two-story building was just ahead. Joey poked his head into the courtyard for a look. Bodies and weapons dotted the yard, along with clips, shells, and bullet holes. Two men entered the brown building. One had a leather coat on.

_Max Payne. _Joey thought. Joey knew Payne ever since Max caught him robbing a house when he was younger, and sent to Juvenile Hall. Joey almost laughed, he needed Max's help. Knowing what kind of cap Max was, Joey tried to find a safer way into the building, maybe a faulty wall he could break down without having to run in the courtyard.

Noticing there was a dark brown panel for a window, Joey pressed upon it with his body, until he had to basically punch it. He broke the panel out and crawled inside, his glasses fell off as he entered. A few Yakuza hurried upstairs. A slight sound of a helicopter was sill in the background, _Toni. _A few bodies were on the floor in the room.

As Joey stood up, he heard a voice yell "FREEZE!" He sounded Japanese.

Preparing himself to kill again, Joey crept up the circular staircase. There was more Japanese talking.

As he entered the room, four Yakuza held up two cops, one Joey knew was Max. There was a hole in the wall, the cops on one side, Joey and the Yakuza in the other. Joey smiled as he pulled up his left hand shotgun, ready to blow the men away.

The guns barrel light up in a large yellow flash, as one of the Yakuza heads was torn apart form the shot, only a foot or two away.

The Yakuza turned to see their demise, about to pull the trigger, Joey pulled up his right hand gun and blasted another Yakuza's chest out, forcing him to the ground like a rag doll.

As Joey dropped to the ground, bullets flew over his head and he pulled up his two shotguns, aiming at the Yakuza, he blasted the last two in their stomachs, forcing them down just like the others.

Now blood splattered, Joey stood up. God, shotguns were messy, but they got the job done. He looked to the right, the copper was gone. Joey watched as Max grabbed an Uzi 9mm, and started searching for clips on the dead bodies. Joey smiled.

The other cop examined Joey, "Who the fuck are you?" he said as he walked up to Joey.

"Joey Leone. I need your help." Joey replied.

"Right, so you saved our lives, what do you want?" Max demanded, standing up with his newly acquired weapon.

More gunshots rang out, "You know I was betrayed, right?" Joey explained. Max shook his head. "Yes? I want to help you to take down Toni. I know he had something to do with the murders, _I know it!_"

Max shook his head once again. Joey knew what Max was thinking, it was probably Toni, but he needed proof.

"Okay, let's go, before we all die." Pierce suggested.

Joey reloaded his shotguns and ran downstairs. "Meet me in Bellville Park tomorrow!" Joey yelled on his way out.

Exiting the same way he came, Joey climbed through the panel, and hugged the commercial building wall, he ran to his car. As he opened the door, a loud explosion made him hesitate. _I hope they make it out. _

He then loaded up and sped off heading south towards Callahan Bridge, passing many cop cars, fire trucks, and ambulances which were heading towards the construction site.

Trying not to look back, he crossed Callahan Bridge. With not a scratch on him, he was successful today. He headed back towards his apartment and laid down on the couch. _What do I do now? _He wondered.

Joey started to doze off, still wearing his vest. Joey felt extremely comfortable, the relief of him not being caught by the Mafia was a very good feeling. His stress was relieved. Not knowing how long it had been, he still lay upon the couch.

In a sudden shake, the room shook vigorously, making him fall off his couch. Joey tried to stand up, but couldn't keep his balance. Everything seemed to fall over, the TV, cups, pans on the counter, the clock hanging on the wall, everything.

Joey ran under a door way, and grabbed the walls to keep his balance. After a few seconds, it was over. Joey slumped over to the ground, his heart pounding. His apartment was now completely cluttered. It just keeps on going, doesn't it?

After sitting down for a few, Joey nervously stood up, expecting an aftershock. He walked over to his window. His eyes widened as he stared at the damage done. He could barely see through the dust in the air. He glanced over at Shoreside Vale and was amazed at what he saw…


	7. Claude vs Tommy?

Still dressed in his traditional Hawaiian shirt and jeans, Tommy lay sleeping on the couch of his newly acquired casino, 'Kenji's Casino,' which he renamed 'Tommy's Casino.' After a brutal fight, Tommy, Ken Rosenberg, and Tommy's right hand man Mario have been taking over Liberty City, one asset at a time, just as they had done in Vice City.

During his 'divide and conquer' strategy, he had developed a friendly rivalry with local syndicate 'Claude Speed' and his gang, because Tommy has been taking over a few or Claude's properties.

Tommy was laying in the sun in his swimming trunks, soaking up the rays in Vice City, while being surrounded by women in bikinis. As one of them started to rub Tommy, she spoke in a mans voice: "Hey, Tommy wake up man!"

Tommy frowned and opened his eyes to see a face in front of him with a blue hat and sunglasses on and a mustache which was above his upper lip. Mario.

"Tommy," he spoke as if he were in the 70's, "let's go man, we gotta boogie."

As Tommy sat up on the couch, a snorting sound came from the left of him. A chump in a purple suit and glasses was snorting lines of coke. It was Ken, Ken Rosenberg.

"Yeah, yeah, Tommy, w-we gotta go, man, I frickin' ready man! I can do this! Let's go kick their ass!" Rosenberg shouted anxiously while flailing his arms around.

Tommy got up and walked over to Ken. Holding out his hand, pointing to Ken's face, "You've gotta lay off of that stuff, Ken. _I mean it." _He said in a serious tone.

Ken sat back down. "Mario," Tommy said, "Go get a few men together."

"What's the plan, Tommy?" Mario asked.

"Y-yeah T-Tommy, what the plan, the plan, Tommy, you gotta tell me the plan."

Tommy ignored Ken. "The plan is, we are going to kick their asses," Tommy used man hand gestures, "This Claude guy is supposed to be trying to take back the recently newly named 'Tommy's Casino' with the help of his ally, the Yakuza gang."

"So," Mario blurted out.

"So, we will have a few me on guard, while we will be back, ready to flank them after they attack. We will have three radios posted around the casino, in the event that something goes wrong. They will radio us, we will flank Claude, and we will win this battle."

"Seems sorta simple to me."

"Simple plans are the best plans, Mario."

"Not necessarily, sir."

"Shut up Mario."

"Okay."

There was a brief moment of silence. "Well?" Tommy gestured, staring at Mario, who still stood in the same place.

"What?" Mario answered.

"The men?"

Mario understood, "Sorry boss." he said on his way out.

They met up at Newport, three vans were full of men, they met in a alley to discuss issues. There were fifteen people there, including Tommy, Mario, and Ken. The group made a small circle around Tommy. Tommy, who was wearing a bullet proof vest, stood on a wooden box.

The group was quietly talking amongst each other, Tommy watched them for a second, the spoke, "Okay. Okay. May I have your attention, please. In approximately twenty-one minutes, we will be attacked by the Yakuza, and their new leader (who oddly isn't Japanese), Claude Speed. Our hidden source within the Yakuza had informed us that a diversion for the police had been set, we don't know what the diversion is, but chances are that will probably be and explosion of some sort. Anyway, after we get the signal of an attack, we will have snipers posted in these three buildings," Tommy had a stick, and a map taped up to a wall on the alleyway. "overlooking the battlefield. After they make the attack, we will come in and flank them from First Street (heading directly to the entrance of the casino), and Jason Drive (heading towards the casino, south). Any questions?"

Everyone in the group was dressed in the traditional Yakuza clothing. One Yakuza raised his hand. "Excuse me, sir. What weapons we using?"

"Ah yes. I have been waiting for that. The snipers will use these S.W.A.T. issue, PSG-1 rifles. Everyone else, who will be attacking via the ground level, will have two fragmental grenades, a Glock or Beretta 9mm, and a choice of a Shotgun, Micro-MP5, and a Kalashnikov assault rifle. Got it?" Tommy pointed to a van, "Open up the wooden crates, and everyone get their equipment." Tommy pointed to three men, "You will be the snipers."

After everyone was finished getting their equipment, they had about five minutes to get ready.

------------------------------------

A few hours before Claude's planned assault, Claude was watching TV at his internet café on Staunton Island. His Yakuza surrounded the building, disguised so they wouldn't scare off any civilians.

"Eh, wow Claude, they came out with the new model of Sentinel," said Phil Cassidy, an old war veteran, and a friend of Claude. Claude didn't respond.

Phil was drinking coffee, the assault was in about and hour, from which knew, it was at noon. Phil put down his mug, and scooted towards Claude, whispering to him, "Claude, I know what you got planned at noon, do you want me to help?"

Claude looked at Phil expressionlessly. He slowly shook his head saying _sure, if you want to._ Phil could understand Claude pretty well, being friends over ten years.

Twenty slow minutes passed, forty minutes until the assault. The day turned out to be pretty sunny. Tomorrow was going to be November first.

Phil and Claude found themselves at Phil's Army Surplus, in northern Staunton Island. They were unloading an arsenal of weapons, and equipping the Yakuza soldiers with them. Phil, although only having one arm, was an excellent marksman, and an advantage to have on your side.

The traditional Yakuza Stingers were too small to attack in, so they got a temporary substitute car, the Nebula. In the parking lot, there were six Nebula's which were being loaded up with men, Claude and Phil got into separate cars. The attack was going to take place in two places, North and East of the Casino.

Along with the cars full of soldiers, they also had a group of men load up in a Barracks OL, which would stop a distance form the building, and allow more Yakuza Soldiers attack on foot. As the minutes passed, the cars left the Army Surplus. The attack had begun.

------------------------------------

With only minutes until the attack was expected, Tommy's snipers rushed up to certain floors in the hotel, and apartment building which surrounded the casino. Tommy and his men parked down the street a ways, next to the giant star statue, while the others were parked under the bridge in Newport, prepared for the assault.

Tommy looked around in the van anxiously with his love for getting into firefights, they sure gave him a rush. He looked around, prepared to fight. A sound in the distance caught everyone's attention. An explosion, the diversion for the cops. The attack had begun.

A few minutes passed and the Nebula's sped through the streets of Staunton Island. The world passed in a blur as they sped around traffic and dodged pedestrians who were jumping out of the way. Claude's car coming up to the turn, from which the casino was just beyond. The car screeched as it took the turn, drifting in sight of the guards at the casino. I less than ten seconds, the casino was surrounded by Nebula's, each one unloading four Yakuza soldiers along with Claude and Phil.

As the men emerged, the guards pulled out their SMGs, and the fire firefight began. Bullets were exchanged from the street to the casino, pedestrians ran and civilian cars drove out of sight.

In this brief action, a few of Tommy's guards dropped dead. The Nebula's provided cover form the defenders upon the casino. Phil was North of the casino, and had three Yakuza with Aks protecting him as he manned an M60 with the help from his prosthetic arm. He took down at least five men within a minute.

The bullets never stopped falling, as more and more guards exited the casino, armed with M4's and Pump Action Shotguns (the casino must have been closed down temporarily, because nobody exited it beside Tommy's men). Yakuza were dying out fast, Claude and Phil were under heavy fire, barely managing to stay out of the bullets range.

Ten more Yakuza Soldiers entered the battle from down the street, taking up strategic positions behind trees, poles, and cars, which were now filled with bullets.

Claude was ducked behind a Nebula, which was leaking gas. He stuck his MP5 above his head, and shot randomly at the casino. The Yakuza next to him got shot in the head, blood splattered over Claude. He had been shot from a building, not the casino. _Snipers._

The car wasn't going to take much more damage. Claude stood up in the middle of the street and ran towards Phil's position, narrowly escaping the explosing car. Phi was now behind a tree on the grass. A few stray bullets entered Claude's vest, but he made it to Phil. The number of Yakuza soldiers was getting pretty scarce. How could this be?

"This is some crazy shit!" Phil screamed, shooting at the casino with a revolver, "Woooooo-hooooooo! Take that! Cock sucker!" A Guard dropped.

Claude had just realized why their men were dying so fast, a group of Tommy's men were flanking them. Claude had spotted Tommy down the street, he pointed at him. Phil then noticed him too.

"Holy shit! Tommy? I can't kill him! He's my friend!" Phil stopped firing, and didn't know what to do. "Screw this! Sorry Claude." With that, Phil was gone, leaving Claude and his Yakuza, who were taking fire from three sides.

Tommy's men were closing in on the few remaining Yakuza soldiers. _Oh shit. _Claude thought. There were only four Yakuza left out of that big group, plus Claude, who were hiding between a tree and an apartment building. Maybe it was time to give up. Tommy's men outnumbered Claude's force greatly. If he fought, there was going to be no chance of surviving, if he surrendered, maybe he could survive.

Tommy's men neared, Claude ordered his soldiers to stop shooting. They put down their weapons, and with that, found themselves at gunpoint in the intersection between 1st and Jason Drive in front of the casino amongst many bodies, shells, weapons, deserted and wrecked cars, torn up cement, plus they were unarmed and greatly outnumbered.

The battle was relatively short, only lasting a about ten minutes, maybe less. Tommy stood out from the men, laughing. "You didn't think you could beat us, Claude, did you?" He sighed, "Well, now that you have surrendered, I guess there isn't much else to do but kill you, right?" Tommy was holding a sawn off shotgun in his right hand, which he pointed at Claude's head.

Claude became nervous, his heart pounding. He had been in this position before, but this time, he had no escape, and the pistols weren't aiming at his bullet proof vest, but the shotgun was aiming at his head.

One of Tommy's men coughed, Tommy about to pull the trigger. A stray noise made Tommy look away for a brief second. Tommy spoke, "Fuck me."

The next few minuets turned to chaos, all Claude could see was Tommy turning his head, then trying to jump out of the way. Followed by Tommy's actions, the ground turned into rubble, as men flew up into the air amongst the fire. Claude flew about eight feet back and hit a few of Tommy's men, having the wind knock out of him. Just when he thought it was over, it wasn't. He realized that it was a rocket that was shot at them.

Unable to get up, he listened, with his face in the ground, covered in dust and debris. There were gunshots, and a lot of them. It also sounded like a helicopter, and more cars coming. _What the hell just happened._ There was screaming too. Men were running around, being shot at, screaming as they died.

Tommy stood up, not that badly hurt, but his leg was soaked in blood. Looking around, Claude's men were taking cover, while Tommy's men were getting shot at by a helicopter, and a few men dressed in black suites, who were getting out of Sentinels that were speeding up.

It was time to split. It was the Jack Crime Families, and it looked like they had a lot of men and firepower, shotguns and M16s. Tommy dashed off, heading North on Jason drive, heading away from the shooting. As he ran, he noticed that he was running with a few Yakuza and a few of his own guards. As Tommy looked back, he saw that one of the JCF members was shooting at his guards with a rocket launcher. He also noticed Claude next to him, running away.

As they got further away form the action, Tommy saw Phil, giving them cover fire with and M4. The gunshots got quieter as they sprinted away. Tommy had lost the casino for sure now, and at the moment was temporarily neutral with Claude and his two surviving Yakuza soldiers, who he was running with.

After time passed, Tommy, Claude, Phil, Two Yakuza, and Mario (who was with Tommy the entire time) were in an alley next to a Pay n' Spray, out of breath, dirty, sweaty, and gathering their thoughts on what happened.

They sat on cardboard boxes, each gang on an opposite side of the alley, staring each other down. Tommy and Claude glared at each other. Phil was standing between the men. Claude got up, ready to knock the shit out of Tommy, and vide versa.

"Now hold on you guys, before you start killing each other, I have a proposition for you." said Phil.

Tommy and Claude looked at Phil inquisitively. Phil took a deep breathe, eager to explain. "You two, are both my friends. And I don't want to see my friends kill each other. Now, what could I do to have you too get along?"

"Have that punk give me some assets!" Tommy stood up, pointing at Claude. Claude then responded by getting up, and walking up to Tommy, staring at him in his face.

"No! No!" Phil pushed the two apart. "What if you, share properties, become one force. Join up against the JCF., they attacked both of you just now, after all. You'll be twice as powerful then you were before, and you can take out the JCF, ya know?"

Tommy smiled. "That the most intelligent thing I think you have ever said Phil," He looked at Claude. "So, what do you say, Claude? Wanna be friends?" Tommy held out his hand.

Claude stared at Tommy, you could tell he was thinking. He grabbed Tommy's hand and shook it.


	8. Earthquake

_"We have a survivor!" A man in yellow shouted. The next thing Max knew was that he was exiting the hospital, after a checkup, having a hard time seeing clearly. He was heading towards SVPD in a Taxi. He had no idea where Pierce was._

_He had a stare the entire way there. Where is Pierce? He just crossed the bridge to Shoreside Vale._

Slowly things came into focus. Max was in the backseat of a Taxi, a middle aged driver at the wheel, he had a large red mustache/beard and a beanie on. The cab advanced slowly over the bridge, the day just beginning. Looking to his right, he could see water, outlined by mountains over the horizon.

As they were about to get off of the bridge, Max rubbed his eyes. They moved into the left lane. Just as the got onto the ramp and started heading down, a blue Premier pulled up beside them. A man in a black beanie, red scarf, blue jeans, and a brown jacket was pointing an SMG at the cab.

Tings of bullets hitting metal caused the cab driver to loose control, crashing into the blue Premier, sending the assailant tumbling violently into the road, where a Landstalker ran him over. Smoke came out of the engine of the cab, Max was uninjured from the crash. The cab driver was gone, he must have gotten out and ran.

As Max gripped the door handle, a sudden shake forced him to loose his balance. The shaking was fierce and violent, making the cab and the Premier roll a little. The sound of crunching metal, skidding cars, and explosions suddenly filled the air. There was another sound, that almost sounded like a cross between screeching metal, bending metal, and a very long explosion. The sound was loud and fierce, but only lasted a few seconds longer than the quake did.

As it passed, Max opened his eyes, still in the cab. He exited the cab to find that he was awe-struck at an amazing sight. In front of Max, but only a feet away, the concrete broke away from the ramp. Metal bars were twisted and bent, the Shoreside Lift Bridge was no more. The last trace of it was two metal bars sticking only feet out of the water, and slowly it disappeared. Cars and people were in the water under the bridge, struggling to get to land, but slowly each of them died.

"How, how could something like that happen? I'll find out sooner or later." Max said to himself. For now, he had to save his own hide. Down the road, pedestrians ran ramped below him, screaming and sprinting around. Some to their families amongst the many car wrecks, others to get out of the area.

Max searched the Blue Premier, no bodies. That means he could still have assailants in the area, he would have to be careful, he was unarmed.

Max looked into the cars as he passed them, slowly making his way down the ramp. Some were bodies that were mangled between smashed cars, metal parts impaled through them, while others had not a scratch on them, but probably a broken neck.

He made his was around a crashed yellow Infernus, to find a large crack in the concrete he stood over. "Freeze." A quiet voice said behind him, followed by the cocking of a shotgun. Max slowly around to see down the barrel of a pump action shotgun, a casually dressed man holding it. To the right over the Infernus, another casually dressed man was holding an MP5.

"What are you some sort of NRA nuts?" Max calmly said.

"Orders of Connor, say goodnight, Mr. Payne" The man smiled. About to fire, Max raised his fist and smashed it down upon the barrel, the handle on the gun hit the man in the face. The other man was about to fire, just as Max grabbed the shotgun out of the air and dropped to the ground, getting phased by a bullet, while shooting the unarmed man in the crotch, forcing him to the ground.

The MP5 barely missed, phasing Max on his side, while sending bullets in front of Max's face as he dropped to the ground. Now on the ground, Max aimed under the Infernus, shooting the mans legs. His legs could hold him up and he hit the ground hard, followed by another shot to his upper body.

Now finished, Max stood up and walked over to his body. _Connor? I know who that is._

Max continued down the ramp. It took him a while to get out to the road, he spotted a police car. He made his way through the unusually large crowd to find that it was empty. After looking around, he spotted Kennedy. As Max made it up to him, a rather large man passed by, pushing Max into Leon.

Leon must have been in an angry mood, as he turned around and tried to punch Max, who caught his fist with his left hand, while having a shotgun in the other. Leon widened his eyes, "M-Max?"

"Take me to the station. Now." He ordered, looking Leon in the eye.

Leon nodded, they got into his car and drove that way.

Max had a blank stare on his face as the short ride came to an end. As they walked up to the door, time stopped for a second.

A loud explosion made everyone around the area gasp, Leon felt the heat behind him and dived to the ground. Max shouted "Everyone DOWN!" as he too, dived to the ground, aiming his shotgun at the fire behind them.

A car had flames bearing ten feet in the sky. That was what exploded. Max studied the area, that parking lot was reserved… Max was shocked, _Oh my god, That was Sergeant Phil's car._

"Inside Leon, now." Max ordered. He approached the burning car. As he tried to look inside from a distance, there was a body. _Oh my god, Pierce's brother is dead._

Max went inside.

The next day was filled with hard work, Liberty City was trying to recover from the earthquake.

"Not only had the Shoreside Lift Bridge collapsed, but it punctured the underground tunnel in the water below it, causing it to flood, killing around 354 people who were traveling in it at that time." The said the news anchor. "Now we go to **Julia Chen**, who is reporting on the scene. The camera showed Julia, with the destroyed bridge behind her. After a moment of silence, she began to speak.

"Thank you, Martha. Here I am standing before the once beautiful Shoreside Lift Bridge, which incredibly collapsed. The speculation to how something like this could happen is bringing up many theory's. James Tan, and architectural student from Liberty University said is was probably caused do to the bridge lifting at the time of the quake, and that the quake was strong enough knock loose the lift system, and that it brought down the bridge with-"

Max turned the T.V. off. "Can you believe that shit Pierce?"

Pierce had come back to the police station, with an injured arm, but nothing else was hurt. The day was foggy and cold, the heating was broke during the quake, so everyone in the station had warm clothing on.

"I know. I was in the hospital when it happened."

Meanwhile in Los Santos: Gregory Lane is in a tough position, his family is part in a new unnamed gang, at a rivalry with the Ballas in Los Santos, and the Grove Street Families are at a neutral relationship. Growing up in the hood turned Greg into a pretty tough kid, at the age of seventeen. He dropped out of high school, and is currently helping his brothers survive in the hood.

Dressed in a white T-shirt and trashy blue jeans, he was walking to the gas station to buy some food, along with two of his gangs members, Leo and Vince. All of their gangs hair is long and slicked back, most of them lift weights, and only a few carry heaters.

Greg always has his pocket knife on him (which he would only use as a last resort), and a pack of cigarettes.

"Hey Vince," said Leo, "how's that girl of yours?"

"Why do you want to know?" Vince replied

"Hey man, I can't care for one of my fellow friends?"

"It's okay… but we're taking a break right now."

"A break? Bull shit-you broke up, mother fucker." said Greg.

Vince turned to Greg getting serious, pushing up against him, "Hey kid, you'd better butt out, before you get your ass kicked."

Greg looked up to the tall strong, naïve, and selfish Vince. "Vince, lay off of the kid, alright?" said Leo.

Vince looked at Leo. He then backed off, and the three kept walking, about a block away from the station.

Greg pulled out a cigarette and light it up as he walked, taking long puffs. As they walked a group of purple-dressed hoodlums, the Ballas. Vince got close to Greg and whispered, "Don't look at them."

But inevitably, the started walking towards them. This group of Ballas included a tall buff black guy, a rather large baby-faced bald guy, and a short bald not-that-strong kid.

"Hey bitches, you looking for a fight?" the tall one threatened. Greg dropped his cigarette.

Vince's face turned into an evil glare, he turned his face and said, "Get the fuck away from me bitch!"

"Oooh!" The fat one made a scared face, "Watch out guys, or well get our asses kicked."

"Yeah, come on shit face, let's go." The tall one started to push Vince.

"What the fuck you want from us?" Leo stood up to the tall one.

Starting to laugh, the tall one sarcastically said, "What the fuck you want from us?"

"Ass-hole." Vince said, slowly.

"What did you say to me?" The fat guy threatened.

"You know what I said."

"Would you like to meet my friends?" He held out his fists, "This is screw, and you!" He threw a punch, landing it on Vince's left cheek, forcing him back.

Leo dashed out and tackled the fat guy to the ground, smashing his head into the sidewalk. Greg threw a punch at the tall one, while Vince recovered and joined in. The short guy attacked Vince's back, throwing a flurry of slightly painful punches. Leo kept pounding on the face of the unconscious fat guy, until his hands were bruised purple and covered in blood.

Greg stopped attacking the tall one and tackled the short one that was flanking Vince. Taking about seven more punches, Vince was tired out and fell to the ground. As Greg kneed the short one, Leo got up and started fist fighting with the tall strong one, taking a few really hard punches, and countering them with punches to his gut. The short one was just about unconscious, as Leo was done taking his hits, his last resort was to back off.

"Okay, stop, stop." said Leo, "Vince come on, let's go."

"That's right bitch, back off." the tall one threatened again.

Vince struggled to get up, the trio all walked away from the fight, as the other two recovered, and got up. The fat one, now covered in blood started cussing them out as they walked away, threatening them and saying threat he was going to get even.

Now covered in bruises, they walked down the street continuing on what they were doing in the first place. This was a typical day in Los Santos for Greg and their gang, but that's the way life was here, and there wasn't anything Greg could do about it.


	9. The Park

"Hey Payne! Are you gonna make more coffee? Or are you just gonna leave it empty! Payne!" yelled Kao, an officer at the station. He walked off after making sure Max made a new pot.

What a day yesterday was. The city was damn near destroyed, Sergeant Phil was assassinated, and now Max had to somehow get to the park to meet Joey. After getting his coffee he walked back over to his desk, Pierce was sitting in his chair quietly.

"Pierce..." said Max.

"Max, they are sending free ferries between Shoreside and Staunton, we can catch one there."

"Pierce, I'm going alone." In that moment, Pierce looked into Max's eyes.

"What? Why?"

"You have things to do. Your brother is dead."

"No, it's okay."

"No, it's not, Pierce," Max sighed, "you have to take care of this, for you're brother."

There was an awkward silence. Max walked out after refilling his coffee mug. It was November second, the city still in wreckage, but it was getting fixed pretty fast. Max took his own Windsor to the ferry, and crossed it. It arrived on a newly made dock, just north of the football field.

After the Ferry arrived, Max drove to Bellville Park. Staunton Island didn't take nearly as much damage as Shoreside did, hell it looked like a normal day, everyone in a hurry, rude, aggressive, the same way it had always been. Max drove south, alongside the park, looking for a space to parallel park. As he found one, a blue Kuruma sped into it before Max could get it. The guy got out and flipped Max off. Max returned the favor. He spent the next five minutes circling the park, until he finally decided to just find the nearest parking spot and just walk to the park.

There were so many people in Liberty City now, the population was supposedly "four million." After finding a parking spot three blocks away, Max had to cross the dangerous streets of Staunton Island. Every time he tried, he almost got hit by those insane taxi drivers. Eventually he made it to the park.

The park was still luscious and green, the grass looked healthy, the trees were tall and wide, and overall it was in a very good condition, better than the rest of the city. As Max made his way around the park looking for Joey, a dense fog drifted in, putting a white haze throughout the park making it hard to see, and giving the park an eerie feeling, like it was some sort of graveyard. Max couldn't see more than ten feet in front of him it seemed like, the fog was very dense. The air was moist, making it feel like his face was wet, almost as if it was raining.

Max stopped, looking as hard as he could, he saw nobody. He turned around, still hearing the city, but it was like he was alone in the park. As he stared as hard as he could ahead, and hand was set upon his left shoulder. Max turned around to see Joey, still dressed in his same clothes, but with bullet holes in the chest, and a stream of dry blood along the left side of his face, to his shirt.

"Max." Joey said, looking into Max's eyes.

"What happened to you?"

"It's kind of a long story, and it's not safe up out here. We need somewhere to talk, like the bathroom."

Max found himself in the men's bathroom, which were actually, unusually clean. Max was leaned up against a wall, while Joey was at the counter, holding himself up with his hands on the sink. He had his head down.

"You gonna talk? Or was this just a waste of time?" Max questioned.

"No. It's not."

"Then talk."

"I don't know…"

"Hmm?" Max shrugged.

"I don't know if I was discovered, by the JCF."

"What do you mean?" Max got off of the wall in alertness.

"I was being shot at last night. I had no idea who it was, but… He was dressed in a black trench coat, that's all I know."

"A black trench coat?"

"Yes, as you can see he shot me a couple times." Joey turned around and leaned against the counter. "Thank god for that vest."

"Why didn't you act dead?"

"I did, but he started walking towards me, and I knew he would finish me off, so I got up and ran."

"So he knows you're still alive? Hmm…" Max put his hand up to his chin.

"I think he goes by the name, Kingpin."

"He thinks he's a Kingpin?" Max was almost getting confused.

"No, I heard his phone ring, as I was hiding in an alley, while he was searching for me…" Joey hesitated, "He answered his cell, and I could hear the person in the other line… barely. He said, 'Kingpin? Where are you?' and then Kingpin started to walk away, talking about something, I can't recall." Joey walked to the other side of the bathroom.

"So you don't know if it was the Mafia? Did they see you?"

"That's the thing," Joey pointed at Max, "They didn't… Or, I-I don't suppose-that they did."

"If it wasn't the JCF, then wha-who else would want you dead?"

"Nobody… Hell, nobody even knows I'm out of prison."

"So out only possible suspect in the JCF."

"It has to be them."

"Possibly, but remember, we still don't have enough evidence against them it's too early to make assumptions." Max stated.

"So what do we do?"

"We investigate, keep you safe… Pierce and I will look into it, keep an eye out for you. And if indeed he does attack again, we will fight back, and find out who he is, who he is working for, and why he his employer wants you dead."

"Where's Pierce?"

"He's taking care of things." Max started to head for the door.

"So eh, where do I go?"

"Come with me, you can stay in my apartment." Max smiled.

Joey nodded and followed Max out the door, into the intense wall of white fog. As they got to the top of the stairs and made it a few yard out into the grassy area, something made Max stop, with Joey behind him. It felt like they were being watched. Unforeseen eyes curiously watching their every move.

"What's going on Max? What's the problem?"

"Oh, nothing." Max still scanned the wall of fog. Joey was staring at Max's chest, a red dot moving up and down. A rush of adrenaline hit him as he realized what it was.

"MOVE!" Joey shouted as he slammed into Max with outrageous force, slamming Max into the ground, stunning him for a half-second.

The sound of a gunshot, then blood splattering out of Joey's leg was the signal to an assassin. As Max hurried to get up, another shot was sent into Joey's other leg, immobilizing him. Max stared at Joey, still standing in the same place.

"You fool! Fucking run!" Joey ordered.

A bullet nearly missed Max as he took off towards trees to take cover behind. After dodging a few more bullets he found himself holding his newly acquired Glock, pressed up against a tree which was being shot at, shards of bark blowing off of it with every shot.

Max looked over at Joey who was on the ground in pain, a few yards away from the stairs, a few yards away from cover. He was slowly making his way along the ground, leaving a trail of blood as he headed for cover.

The gravel on the trail jumped up as a bullet narrowly missed Joey's body. "DAMN!" Max screamed. He would need to distract the sniper, giving Joey enough time for Joey to get to cover.

"AAAHHHH!" Max screamed in rage as he jumped out form behind the tree and fired into the wall of fog from where the line of red was coming form. The shots were loud, echoing. Max unloaded a clip in less than five seconds before he jumped back behind the tree, dodging a bullet.

As Max reloaded, the tree was hit by a few more shots, Max's right elbow was phased from being a little to big for the tree.

"Ouch! Damn." He glanced over at Joey again, the red line aiming at his body. He was about eight feet from cover. To the right of Max was a larger tree upon a hill that overlooked a street. Getting ready, Max strafed while firing, running to the bigger trees which would provide more cover. The street was still crowded with cars.

The sniper aggressively tried to take out Max on his run, each bullet getting closer and closer to hitting their target. After unloading another clip towards his position, Max reloaded and started to shoot from behind the tree, peeking around it to get a few shots off.

The sniper began to loose interest in killing Max and began to shoot at Joey, who was getting closer to cover every second. Doing an inventory check, Max realized had only three more clips left. It was time to get closer, Max scanned ahead, looking for the next point cover, which was another large tree along the same hill.

He took off and fired two shots at the sniper, who then returned fire, sending bullet but a few inches from Max's chest.

Max was now behind another large tree, and the sniper started firing at Joey again. Ahead of Max was another fairly large tree on the slope of the hill, following that was a gravel path with an exit to the street, and beyond that was another large tree right next to it. This dash would be longer than the others, Max prepared himself.

Both of this hands gripped his pistol like a snake coiling a rabbit. He sprinted as fast as he could, firing at the red line though the fog as best he could. As he ran down the hill, bullets flew past him, and in a few seconds, he was behind another tree, still alive, with his adrenaline pumping him up. _God, what a rush._

Max peeked around the corner, just a little further Max could almost see a figure, from which the red line was coming from, upon a little hill on a gravel path. Joey screamed as the sniper actually managed to hit him. "Damn." Max murmured.

Max emptied the rest of his clip form behind the tree, then reloaded. Max decided to crawl, a few small trees were to the right of him that would give him some cover.

As he got closer he could barely see outline of the figure from which the red line was originating. He got as close as he could, the ground in front of him began flinging up, throwing dirt over Max as bullets were being shot at him.

Using both hands, Max carefully aimed at the figure, the red line was shining on Max's face. Here he would have to have the best aiming he ever had, a few bullets had to be direct hits, or Max would die. And he knew that.

Nine shots rang out, eight of them from Max's Glock, one from the sniper. Max could see the bullet fly just above his left ear, hearing it scream as it passed him.

Silence followed those shots. Nothing was heard, no birds, no cars, no voices, nothing. A scream was let out from upon the hill. Max was relieved. He took a few breathes then stood up and slowly made his way up the hill. On a gravel path three way intersection, were about twenty shells from the rifle, and a small amount of blood. Max turned around, and saw through a few trees, Joey, who was just getting to the stairs. Max made his way back to Joey through the empty park. Sound came back, as if nothing had happened. Max put his gun back in it's holster at his side, and pullet his jacket over it. He went over to Joey.

"Are you okay?" Max asked as he bent down to Joey's level.

"Yeah, it stings." He replied, the bullet that hit him was just above his kneecap. "Did you get him?"

Max shook his head, "Come on, I know an guy who can fix this, but it won't be at the hospital." Max picked Joey up over his shoulder and made his way across the park, and across the streets back to his Windsor.

"His name is Dr. Malcolm, he was an army surgeon, is that okay?" Max asked.

Joey gasped and shook his head. Max started up his car.


	10. JCF vs The Law

The room was quiet. It suited everyone's needs as it was very comfortable and warm. A chandelier hung from the roof and light up the room. The blinds over the windows were down. Expensive looking pictures were hanging on the walls, thousand dollar carpets paved the floor. Fancy chairs and tables and desks filled the room.

A man dressed in all black sat at the desk, with a bottle of whiskey and a small crystal cup at his side. A knock was heard at his door. A man dressed in a suit walked in.

"Sir. Someone's here to see you." He said in a deep voice. He almost sounded black.

"Who the fuck is it this time? My fucking dad?" he replied.

"Sir, it's your son."

The man in the chair exhaled, "Let him in."

After the order, a young man walked in dressed in brown pants and a blue shirt. "Hey Connor." he spoke.

"Son."

"Why'd you come? To just talk with you father?" Connor asked.

"No, Connor-"

"Why do you call me Connor? Am I not good enough to be called, Dad?"

"No, Dad-"

"That's better. Now did you finish you're homework?"

"I've been done with home school for over a year now." he sighed and shook his head.

"I'm sorry Jesse, it's just that-"

"You feel like I'm helpless, like you need to watch out for me?" Jesse got serious, talking in a loud, firm tone. "I'm not a little kid anymore, Dad! I want to help you."

"No. By the way, did you get into that college?"

"Yes, but I'm not going."

Connor stood up, "Oh yes you damn well will."

"You can't make me!" he walked up to Connors desk. "I," He slammed his fist down on the desk with every word he said, "am, a fucking, grown, man!"

"You only think that!" Connor pointed into his face.

The door opened, "Sir, is everything okay in here?"

Connor turned around, showing the guard his back, "Stephen, everything's okay, let us talk." After the door closed he turned around.

"I just wanted to talk about mom! That's all I came here for! DAMN!"

"Well I'm sorry son, but don't you think Dianne would have wanted you to go to college?"

"NO!"

"Okay fine! You can work with me! And then we'll see if you really can handle this!"

"Okay, fine!" Jesse started towards the door.

"Okay, fine!" Connor replied.

"Okay!"

"Okay!" Connor sat down and took a big drink. He put his fist to his head and closed his eyes to think.

---

Max sat at his desk. "Damn it! Are we getting anywhere?"

Pierce was looking out the window, over Shoreside. The city looked almost normal, a bit more trashy than normal, but other than that, it looked normal. The sun was shining brightly in the sky, producing eighty degree heat. "Well, let's review. It's been three days since that assassination attempt, and since then, no evidence. No gang wars, no gang member deaths, no suicides, no explosions, no nothing."

"This city seems to be recovering pretty fast. Glad there was no tsunami." said Joey, who was sitting in a chair in Max's cubicle. His legs were bandaged up, and he was recovering pretty well.

"Yeah." said Pierce.

"Well, something has to be coming up. The gangs of Liberty City do not just shut up and stop acting for three days."

"I know, Payne. But what can we do? Ya know?"

"Yeah, I know."

"So… you uh, think that it's the JCF that murdered that family?"

"Yeah, I think. Then after that construction yard incident, the JCF tried to have me assassinated, remember?"

"Yeah, you said that theMafia said Connor's name?"

Max shook his head, "The leader of the JCF… has it out for me." He almost laughed.

"You'll be aight Max."

"You had better be careful Max,' SAID Joey, "when the Mafia has it out for you, you had better be watching you're back at all times, believe me. I've seen them do what they do."

Max shook his head again.

---

"Toni. What are you gonna do? What's your plan?" Connor asked, at Toni's restaurant, while outside while sitting at the tables, surrounded by guards.

"We're gonna take back Staunton Island from those assholes. We're gonna finish off that bitch of a man, Claude. He'll be at his condo. And if not, oh the fuck well. They will go down anyway." Toni explained.

"Okay, okay. I agree. So if he's not their you a-"

"Are going to burn I to the fucking ground anyway!"

"Alright," Connor was shaking his head in approval.

"Let's go get the men together. The JCF is going to take over Staunton once and for all."

Connor found himself strapping a bullet proof vest to himself, next to his son who wanted to get in on the action. "Ready to see some wild shit, Jesse?"

"Hell yes, Connor."

---

"Calling all units, all units. Officer down! We need backup, we're at Newport! Taking heavy fire-ahhhh." Max, Pierce, and Joey were at the Shoreside Vale station listening to the gunfire and screaming over the radio.

"Okay, okay, we need all available units in the city to Newport." said the dispatcher.

Max grabbed his gun and strapped on his vest along with Pierce. They left the station with Joey inside, he would be safe there. The Police Cruiser glided smoothly over the road as they made hast to Newport. Cars along the road pulled out of the way and then they found themselves upon the emergency ferry for emergency vehicles.

By the time they were coming up to Newport it had been ten minutes. They drove alongside four other cruisers that were coming from Shoreside. Just past Ammu-nation was a roadblock of police cruisers. Each of them had their red and blue lights flashing. After they got out, the gunshots were heard, never stopping just like before.

Beyond the roadblock were about seven dead bodies, some of officers, some of the JCF. Beyond that, over the edge of the Jason Drive, the battle was taking place. There was no sign of any other gang besides the JCF, who were taking cover inside one of the condos. The police had secured the area around the condo, a few JCF were outside battling, while others were picking off the police from inside. Gunfire seemed never-ending. Lines of bullet were exchanged form the police above the battlefield on Jason Drive.

Police were hiding behind police cars, street signs, light poles, basically anything that could stop a bullet. Two SWAT vans were parked giving a large area of cover. Snipers were posted in buildings that would give a clear view of the condo and the battlefield. Two police helicopters flew above giving cover fire for the ground forces. A news helicopter had been shot down a few minutes ago. It managed to fly a few hundred feet away before cascading to the water where it combusted.

As Max ran up behind one of the SWAT vans, he shouted, "How the hell are there SO many JCF members?"

"I don't fucking know!" Pierce responded.

"Oh well!" Max jumped out, shooting at the exposed members.

"Max! Come on! Let's get a good vantage point!"

"But where?"

"AAAHHHHH!" And officer standing beside Max was gunned down as he was taking pot shots from the side of the van.

"No." Max dove behind a cruiser, nearly landing on another officer. Pierce followed him.

"Don't think! Shoot!" Max kneeled behind the cruiser, shooting at the yellow flashes of light, doming form various windows in the condo.

Toni was down on the bottom floor of the condo with a high caliber sniper rifle, picking off SWAT members.

Connor came up behind him, along with Jesse, holding M4's. "Jesse, go over to that window, at the end!" He pointed down to the other end of the 'lobby'

As Connor was about to shoot, he jumped because of glass shattering, he ducked down as he heard bullets passing by, crashing into the wall beyond them. Next to him, Toni fell down coved in glass, and a little blood.

"Damn!" Toni screamed. A few shards of glass penetrated his face, making him bleed.

"There's too many of them! If they bring in the FBI, we're done for!" said Connor.

"I know! I know! We've gotta get outta here! And why the fuck wasn't Claude's gang here? Damn!"

Max sparked an idea. He ran back to where the Staunton PD sergeant was.

"Sir!" Max said.

"W-what do you want?" the sergeant sounded irritated.

Max pointed at the condo, "There's a dock behind it! We could get some boats to-to drop off some men from behind!"

He shook his head saying, "Yeah, good idea. You, JOHNSON! MEDERITH! JACKSON! CASEY!" A group of men dressed in black with bullet proof vests on arrived.

The next thing Max knew, he was speeding over the Liberty City waterways. Two boats were heading to the Condos. Everyone in the boat was rising and falling as the boat went up and down over the waves of the solid blue water.

Looking around, Max noticed that all of the faces in the boat he didn't know. _Aw, shit, where's Pierce?_

Pierce was stuck behind a police cruiser, in front of the condo. The shooting temporarily stopped, and yet Pierce was to afraid to run back to the secure area. How had he gotten himself into this? Looking around, he could see all sorts of police officers hiding behind cars, crawling towards the condos, and now even a team of eight FBI that were closing in on the condo.

The helicopters were gone now, it was too dangerous to keep flying above that area, in the case of another chopper going down, it could take out most of the law enforcements in that are.

Pierce found himself alone on the battle field. All of the police and FBI and SWAT seemed to disappear. He felt his stomach drop. "Oh…. Crap." He whispered to himself.

Meanwhile, upon Jason Drive, the law enforcement were just going to keep the area secure, instead of going in a loosing all of their men. This way, they couldn't escape.

"Connor! We have enemies in boats! Coming from the back!" cried a Mafia soldier.

Punching the air, Connor screamed, "DAMN IT! TONI THIS IS YOU'RE FAULT." Toni frowned. "YOU! Are going to come up with a solution, to get us outta here! NOW DAMN IT!"

Next door, Tommy, Claude, and Phil, along with a few members their gang were hiding form the cops. The JCF attacked the wrong condo, they were all next door watching a movie, and having a party.

As the boat neared it's destination it was being shot at it. One officer was shot in the head and flew out of the boat into the water. When they reached the dock, four Mafia were running down the stairs shooting, armed with Ak's and Shotguns. Max had to dodge the gunfire while trying to get onto the dock. As soon as he made it, there would be hell to pay.

The driver of the boat was killed, and it was drifting away. A few men dove into the water, while others made it onto the docks, pulling out their firearms to take down the Mafia.

With one leap, Max landed on the dock twisting his leg, sending a shot of pain up his leg. He got up just in time to dodge a few shots. He followed three surviving officers who were making their way up the stairs, while taking out any Mafia who crossed their way.

Max took a dead Mafia's Shotgun. Now at the top, they took out a few guards at the door and around the pool. It was time to make their way inside the condo.

Just before that, Toni, Connor, Jesse, and Stephen fled upstairs, up a few floors. They knew that some well trained SWAT members were coming, but they weren't expecting Max. Max was just about as good as a SWAT member, except he was more intelligent than them and had better judgment.

This battle had just begun.


	11. The Condo

Plaster and bits of drywall covered Max and the three SWAT team members as bullets shot above their heads, leaving a line of bullet holes. Everyone dropped to the ground. To their right was a wall, to their left was a couch which they were using as cover.

"They're over there, use a grenade!" one shouted.

Max's adrenaline shot up. Within a few seconds they would be dead. He hopped up in plain sight and scanned the area while shooting his shotgun. A group of three men dropped their weapons as the fell to the ground, surrounded by a shower of blood. In the next second, Max aimed the shotgun at a group two men. When he shot the two men disappeared in a ball of fire, as a bullet hit the grenade one was holding.

The room was long, taking up the whole floor. A few feet in front of them was a hallway to the right, where the stairs were. The SWAT stood up and took positions aiming down the hall. Two pressed up against the wall and peeked down the hall. Max and the other SWAT member stood behind them.

"It's okay, go." Ordered one of them.

They kept low as they made their way down the hall. One Mafia popped out from a doorway, but was shot down in a matter of seconds, falling to the ground like a rag doll.

At the end of the hallway was a stair case, leading all the way up to the roof. As they made their way up the square-shaped stairs, something fell down the middle.

Max examined it, then realized, "Run! It's a bomb!" After that, an explosion cause smoke and debris to shoot up the staircase, leaving behind a growing fire.

Picking a random floor, they came to floor three. They ran up and down the halls searching each apartment on this floor, they were all empty. Footsteps were heard above them. When they came back to the smoke filled staircase they were being fired at. As they moved up the stairs, they returned fire until they reached floor 4.

In the hallway were a few enemies, bearing Ak's and pissed off. The four took cover in the closest apartment, while peeking out the door to eliminate the Mafia.

Slowly the floor filled with smoke. By the time they had searched it, the smoke was getting thicker. With all of the smoke the Mafia would be in the higher levels, so the group skipped a few floors.

Eventually the came to floor eight, which was riddled with men, and where they lost the first SWAT member. As they entered an apartment, a Mafia was behind the counter in the kitchen, holding a heavy AMG, which tore through his body, squirting out steams of blood as he died. He flew back and bounced off the blood splattered wall.

Max dived inside, killing the man as Max was in mid air, along with three other Mafia in that apartment. Before they knew it, they were on floor ten (there was a total of seventeen floors). From here, there weren't many confrontations. Just an occasional Mafia. When they reached floor 15, the fire below had grown, somehow growing not only wide, but tall, up many floors very fast. Time was running out, the building would collapse sooner or later.

By the time they were on the stairs, another SWAT member was gunned down by a large figure down the hall. Max and the last SWAT member ran down the hall chasing the large figure. As they entered the door, the came to a halt.

"FREEZE!" They were staring at eight gang members all holding assault rifles pointed at their faces. The two dropped their weapons. The wood floor echoed footsteps in the background. A weapon was cocked. In the next instant, to the left of Max, the SWAT member became headless, due to a shotgun shot from the back of his head.

Standing behind him was Toni Cipriani. He stared Max in the face. "What are you doing here?"

"Taking you down." Max replied coldly.

Everyone in the room started laughing. "I'd like to see you try."

Max was about to be executed. The room was empty, besides a few crates, and a few boxes of SMG ammo. Max grabbed the nearest guy's gun, pulling him in and using him as a shield as the room light up with yellow flashed of fire. The hostage became soaking red with blood. Max backed up to the doorway, from where he shot the boxes of ammo as he left the room. The sound of ramped bullets firing, followed by random flashes of lights followed.

Entering floor sixteen was a complete change. Instead of apartments, it was more like a giant room, combining floors sixteen and seventeen, although there were catwalks along the edges on floor seventeen. Small walls which looked like cubicles covered this warehouse-themed room.

Looking around, there were various crates, boxes, and cartons, it looked like explosives and ammo. Guns were racked upon walls and racks. A crate of C4 sat out l as if nothing was wrong. As Max walked through the room, an open area was filled with men.

Suddenly Max felt hot, his heart pounding. He had no way to escape. He pulled up his MP5 and randomly fired at one of the rooms occupancies. He fell to the ground in blood.

"Son of a bitch!" Someone shouted.

Max's vision blurred as his head suddenly felt bruised and battered, numb. Something crushed into his head, making Max do a flip to the floor. A small shower of blood misted on him. His head ached, a pain came from deep within. He felt out of focus, seeing two of everything. He hear voices.

"What-what-what-what?"

"No-no-no. Put your-put-your-guns-down-own-n."

"Tis-tis-this-bas-sas-tar-s-gonna-onna-pay-pay-pay" Following this were talking that Max couldn't comprehend. The world was out of joint.

Suddenly his eyes came into focus, his hearing back. He found that he was looking at a few men's feet, through a very light blanket of smoke. Something warm and gushy was covering the back of his head. He felt a warm substance trickle down his face, following a path over his eyebrow, across his nose, and down his cheek.

A hand aggressively pulled him up, he was looking into a face. The face looked familiar, but Max was having trouble thinking. "What the fuck did you do? Why the fuck are you hear! You are going to pay! You are going to pay for hurting Jesse!" He spoke fluently, and with anger.

His foot raised and fell, straight into Max's stomach. He pulled Max up, giving him a punch that made him spit out blood. Three more punches mad Max's face go numb. With every hit more blood poured out of him. The punches kept coming never ending. Cuts on Max's face came from them, his nose was bleeding, his lips torn. His right eye brow was split open, all of this making Max's face numb with pain. It felt like Max was in two places outside of his body. As if he were being beat out of himself. When it ended, he threw Max on the floor. Max put his hand to his face.

He came back again with a few kicks in the stomach. Max couldn't move. The smoke became more fierce now, the room heating up. "Come on Connor, let him die along with the building."

The next time Max opened his eyes they were gone. He came back into focus once again, not knowing how bad his condition was. Most of his body was numb, the pain easing away now. He was soar, and could barely stand up. He coughed through the smog, spitting out blood. It felt like being in an oven. The sound of fire roared furiously in the background. A word clicked in Max's mind, Radio.

_"It is just after four o'clock here, I stand right now, outside of this burning building, which has been burning for the last twenty-twenty-five minutes. Police say it is amazing that it is still standing. As you can see, behind me, coal black smoke is filling the air. It looked like the fire has engulfed the first five floor completely, and has climbed up to some of the higher floors." said news reporter, **Julia Chen.**_

Max took his radio and spoke. "This is detective," he coughed, "Payne."

Pierce was at the ground level listening in. "I'm on the…" he paused, "second to top floor. There's no way out, I could really use some help here." He continued coughing.

"Detective Payne? This is David Anderson, chief of Staunton Island PD. We will have a chopper pick you up at the roof."

"No! I have to get out now! You don't understand! The building blowing up!"

"What do you mean?"

"Bombs damn it! They're going t-" The radio cut out with the sound of an explosion within the building.

Smoke cleared away form the building as the chopper hovered above. It dropped a ladder.

Max scrambled to get back up, the floor was tilting due to an explosion below. The fire grew bigger which was now visible, _it was on the same floor as the weapons, ammo, and explosives._ Max had about thirty seconds before they all blew up. Looking down towards the opposite side of the floor, a chopper was visible. Max's only hope.

Max dashed in that direction. In front of him flashes of bright white light and the sound bullets firing were heard. He ran through it, hoping not to get hit. A few explosions produced heat upon his back as he passed by cubicles, flashes of fire below him, above him, on the sides of him, everywhere.

He came closer and closer with every second. With the loud sound of fire burning, explosions, and parts of the building falling and collapsing, it made him sprint faster. The ladder was visible through the window. He ran through walls of smoke and fire, nearing the end. A brief wave of fire surrounded him after another explosion. He was wet with sweat, and was about to jump through the glass. As he neared the window, he lost his footing as the floor went from a ninety degree angle to basically a vertical wall. Max slammed his head into the ground while it was falling, as if he were going to do a summersault.

In the next second, a large explosion embedded Max with fire as the force tossed him out the window, upside down along with flames, smoke, glass, and wood. He slammed into the ladder and got his leg caught in it as he fell. It pulled at him, giving him great pain, urging him to grab the rope. People from below gasped as the saw Max dangling on the ladder.

The building combusted, throwing flames twenty feet in all directions as it tumbled to the ground, turning into a black cloud, throwing dust and debris everywhere, a lot of which blew into the ocean.

In the condo next door Claude stared out the window as his building tumbled to the ground, creating a blanket of smoke and dust covering a large area. "GOD DAMN IT! THAT WAS MY PROPETY!" Claude shouted, throwing his fists around, "I HAD SO MUCH GOD DAMN WEAPONRY AND AMMO IN THAT BUILDING! MOTHER FUCKER!"

All of the gang members in the room had their mouths wide open. Tommy stood looking at Claude, shocked. Phil was amazed too, that was the first time anyone had ever hear Claude speak. "November fifth, four twenty-seven pm. Claude speaks." announced Phil.

Max was taken to a hospital. Max had a slight concussion. His face was completely red, which turned into purple bruises. He had five different cuts on his face, his brow, the skin was split on both cheeks, a cut on his forehead, and one directly on his nose. His nose and eyes were fine, although his eyes were blood shot and red. He also had a busted lip. The back of his head was swollen, but would get better in time. His chest and ribs were okay, although pretty bruised up. Max was released form the hospital late the next day.

Toni, Connor, and Stephen were sitting in Connors office.

"I'm sorry about you're loss, sir." Toni apologized. "I feel like it's my fault."

"It's not. Even though he died… we still took out Claude's arsenal, and his property. That weakened them. And it's not like, _you _killed him man." He spoke calm and well, his stare was blank though. His fists were purple and soar from the beating he gave Max.

"Yeah, and at least that bastard cop died." said Stephen.

A knock at the door, Stephen answered it and was whispered to. "Oh my god," he said aloud. He closed the door and sat back down. "Connor, Max, the detective that killed your son… Is alive… And he's coming after us."

Connor felt rage through his veins, his expression changed. He clenched his teeth, "That mother fucker is going to pay. He's going to know the consequences for messing with the Connor Jack."

"He's coming after us? The Jack Crime Families?" Toni asked.

"Yeah." Stephen replied, almost in a laugh.

"There's no way he can take us down." Toni grinned.

"Let's come up with a plan." said Connor.


	12. Club Fight in Los Santos

Max found himself on his apartment's couch the same day he got out of the hospital. His boss wouldn't let him go back to work a few days. Max disagreed, but there was nothing he could do about it. His face was grey and purple, his ribs and legs ached. The couch he lay on was a few years old, but still provided comfort. He had a Mid class apartment which seemed to have a brown color theme.

He had his hand above his head, resting on a pillow while having a cigarette in the other hand which he was constantly taking drags of. The doorbell rang. It opened up, and Pierce came in, holding a bag of Cluckin' Bell fried chicken.

"Hey, Max. How are you holding up?" He asked.

Max took a drag and didn't answer.

"What are you doing?" He took the cigarette out of Max's hands, "You don't smoke." He tossed it out of the open window, seven stories above the ground.

"This sucks." said Max.

"I know man, but what can you do? Ya know?" Pierce sat down in front of the coffee table, laying out the food.

"So… they said you're brother was assassinated?"

Pierce glanced at Max. "Ye-yeah."

"God this city is fucked up."

"It's corrupted."

Max grabbed a piece of chicken and bit into it. "Here's you soda," Pierce handed it to him. "I'm surprised you didn't break any bones."

Max smiled, "Yes. Hey, would you get me a cup of coffee?"

"No, Max. You drink too much coffee, just drink your damn soda."

Max shook his head, "Whatever."

After they finished eating, Max got in a comfortable position, and they started watching TV. The were watching a wacky-random show called, '**The Game of Life**'

Before Max knew it was November ninth, he could have sworn someone was hanging around his apartment so he stayed with Pierce for the last few days. He was currently watching TV over there, while Pierce was at work.

During this time, Greg Lane was hanging out at his trashy house. He had a six pack of beer open, and was sitting at the couch with three of his friends, Frank, Jerry, and Nina who were all drinking beers. They drank up the beer quickly, and started smoking, filling the small house in Idlewood full of smoke. They sat around the coffee table, sitting in chairs and on couches, laughing the day away.

There were a few conversations going on between the four people

"Dude, the government has this car man," said Frank, "That runs on water man!"

"So… it's a boat?" asked Jerry.

"No… man, it's a car. Sa car man! It runs on water."

"Yeah… a boat."

"Yesterday I saw my brother on the phone… but he was speaking Chinese." Nina said to Greg.

"What? Chinese?" asked Greg.

"No Jerry. I'll explain. This car runs on water man! But the government doesn't want to sell it, because then we'll use up all of our water man." He continued, "Then all we'll have to drink is beer! And they know that beer is what makes us horny man! They know that beer keeps us together!"

"Yeah," Nina replied to Greg, "so I said, 'Tanner, stop speaking Chinese!' And when he turned around, it wasn't Tanner. Yeah," She shook his head, "It was some Chinese guy."

"Oh, Tanner made me a grilled cheese once!" Frank blurted out, laughing. "He-he forgot to put on cheese."

It sounded like a car was driving up. "Oh crap!" shouted Greg. Everyone in the room scrambled to open up the window, light candles, and air out the room so Vince (Greg's roommate) couldn't tell he was smoking dope. If Vince caught Greg smoking, he would literally kick Greg's ass.

Vince and Leo came back from the Well stacked Pizza, holding two pizza's. The three in the room were acting casual, watching a movie starring Candy Suxxx on JBO.

Leo burst through the door, Vince following him. He looked at the TV and commented, "What the fuck are you guys watching that shit for? Turn the fucking TV off Gregory!"

Greg scrambled to grab the remote and quickly turned off the TV. "Now, get up here and get some pizza." Everyone pushed around the boxes, fighting to get the pizza before it was gone. Greg found himself later that day in his small bedroom, reading a book titled, '**Three Kings: Down in Vice**'

The door slammed open, "Gregory, the phones for you" Vince was standing in the doorway, "You ain't looking at porno are you?"

"What? No! I'm reading a book."

"Oh." Greg still sat on the bed. There was a brief moment of silence.

"Are you gonna come get the phone? Or do I have to hang it up?"

"I am a few feet away from you! Why can't you bring it to me?"

"Get, the fucking, phone Gregory."

"Ugh." Greg moaned as he got up, taking the small black phone out of Vince's hands. "Hello?"

"Hey, Greg it's Nina."

"Oh, hey Nina. Sup?"

"We (by we I mean, Me, Jerry, and Frank.) Were wondering if you wanted to go to a club tonight?"

"Oh sweet, when?"

"We'll pick you in a few minutes, get ready." She hung up the phone.

"Sweet." Greg got into his closet and got in his best clothes, a silk-like blue shirt, and a bit torn up jeans. He fixed his hair, and even put on a little cologne. It was seven thirty seven, and he was standing outside waiting for a car to pull up. The sky was a light shade of orange which faded to purple then black, some clouds to the west (just within the orange sky) were pink.

Slowly, a red Admiral pulled up, three people in it. Greg got in the last seat available which was in the back next to Nina. The ride seemed quiet, the radio on Radio Los Santos.

They parked along side the a street that was packed with other cars, and walked down the street a ways to two doors with torches on each side. They entered the club. Lights were shinning through the dry ice, the dance floor was packed, and the music was booming.

Frank was laughing, "I'm gonna go get a beer, Jerry come with me." they walked off towards the bar.

"So… uh… this is pretty cool." said Nina.

"Yeah… it's… very flashy…" said Greg. _Very flashy? Come on!_

"You, uh… wanna dance?"

"S-sure."

They headed out to the dance floor.

After a while of waiting in line, Frank finally got up to the bar. "Hey, I'd like to get a soda."

"Okay," The tall guy replied.

"And get me a beer son!" Frank looked to the left, Jerry was standing by the door. Frank smiled.

"Oh, and a beer for my dad."

The bartender was looking at Frank, _A son and father don't come to a club together… do they?_

After a while of waiting, Frank finally said, "You're not going to give me that beer are you?"

Meanwhile, in the small crowd on the dance floor, Greg and Nina were moving about, rubbing their bodies together to the rhythm of the music.

Nearly and hour had passed, and the four found themselves sitting at a table, drinking soda. "This sucks man, we gotta get some beer." Frank said.

"Yeah… Beer always makes everything better." Greg said, while he was playing around with his foam cup.

The door opened, a few purple Ballas walked in. "Oh shit, Ballas." Jerry spotted them out.

"Con on, lets go." said Greg, they headed for the exit. A Balla spotted them and stopped them.

"What are you pricks doing here?" one of them asked.

"Nothing." Frank replied. "Now leave us alone. We don't want any trouble."

"Ooh, well I think I do."

"Step off man." Greg threatened, standing out, in front of the Balla that they were talking too.

The Balla picked up his fist and punched Greg, he tumbled to the ground. "Anyone else want some?" Nina walked out of the club.

"Well, there's two of us, and only one of you… so… Yeah." Frank and jerry tackled him to the ground, beating the crap out of him. Bouncers came running, just when two more Ballas showed up with heaters. They opened fire upon Frank, Jerry, and Greg, who ran back towards the bar. The club turned into a panic room, everyone was screaming and running for the exit, even the bartenders, making it hard to get though the crowd.

They were all hiding behind the bar, the doors packed with so many people it would take minutes to get out. The three Ballas fanned out and were searching throughout the club.

Greg started fumbling with a glass of alcohol. Jerry and Frank looked at him inquisitively, "What the hell are you doing?"

He stuck a towel in it from behind the bar, and lit it on fire with his lighter. He jumped up, and was ready to throw it.

"NO YOU FUCKING MORON!" Frank tackled Greg, but the bottle had already left his hands. When they got up, a fire was growing the middle of the room. It was chaos before they made it out. The club was filled with smoke, and starting to burn to the ground. The three sprinted back to the Admiral and sped off, swerving around traffic, getting the hell outta dodge before the cops arrived. They found themselves at Franks trashy house (he lived alone).

Greg was sitting on his couch, holding his head with his hands, Nina was driven home earlier.

"How stupid could you get. What good was going to come from you throwing that Molotov? DAMN!" Frank screamed.

"I don't… Know, I wasn't thinking." Greg replied.

"The cops will be after us, with all that technology, they'll be sure to find you." said Jerry, "We need to get you outta the city, you got any friends in LV or SF?"

"I could check." Greg went looking through the Phone book, he found Gabe Prince, and old friend from when they were younger.

"You've been smoking too much man, it's fried you brain man. Clouded your judgment." Frank stated.

That same night, Jerry ended up heading to Las Venturas in the middle of the night, driving through a pitch black countryside, the headlights guiding the car though the darkness. The ride was quiet, nobody was speaking, not Greg or Jerry. The was radio off.

At LSPD, Detective Leon Kennedy was sitting at his desk, uncomfortable in his situation. His new schedule made him work until midnight, it was between eight and nine o'clock right now. He was staring out his window on the third floor, looking over Eastern Los Santos. Just a few blocks ahead, smoke was filling the air, the traffic was congested. Leon pondered what was going on as he was sipping his coffee.

The sergeant walked into his cubicle a few hours later, just before Leon got off. "Leon, I have a new case for you." He handed Leon a packet of paper. Leon pushed his hair out of the way as he began to read it. It was his job to work with the scientists to locate the suspect who burned down a club but a few hours ago, and to take him down. Leon prepared himself to go home and get a good night sleep, and start on the case tomorrow.

**A/N: I'm sure some of you have noticed my many references to That 70's Show, just thought I would point that out. **


	13. Livin Large

The clock said it was three-o-five in the morning. Gabe said he would be up and ready to help Greg move in. When the came up to Las Venturas, Greg and Jerry were shocked, as the city seemed as busy as it would be during the day. The lights brightly lit up the sky, turning the purple darkness to orange lights. As they drove the strip, cars were parked all the way down it. Las Venturas had really grown it's population from back in 1992. The headed up north to Prickle Pine, where Gabe lived. They followed the strip and turned left to cross over Julius Way Through North, then headed west towards prickle Pine.

After spending around thirty minutes driving around, they spotted Gabe standing outside of his large house in an expensive looking robe, in the southwestern corner of Prickle Pine. His house was large and beautiful, definitely higher class. Jerry and Greg pulled up in the driveway. The garage door opened and they drove in, parking the car next to Gabe's black Buffalo with gold trim, which was also next to his orange Euros with blue Vinyl's on the sides.

They got Greg's baggage and walked up to Gabe. "It's nice to see you again, Greg. And you too Jerry. You're welcome to stay here tonight if you want, Jerry."

"Sure, yeah, okay." Jerry replied, "Thanks man."

"No problem guys."

"I'm sorry about waking you up in the middle of the night dude, but thanks, I really appreciate this." Greg spoke.

"It's no problem guys, I'm always willing to help a friends out." Greg smiled, he and Jerry brought his stuff inside.

The house was large, an expensive looking rug lead the way upstairs, and down the hall. The walls were neatly decorated, it looked like a celebrity's house.

Gabe entered after them. "This is a really, really nice place you got here Gabe." said Greg.

"Yeah," Gabe leaned up against a wall, "I guess being an architect for Donald Love really pays off, huh?"

"Fuck yeah." Jerry blurted. Gabe laughed.

"So, uh, Greg, you can stay upstairs in the extra room, Jerry, you can stay with him in that room for tonight. Oh, and by the way, if you see a black guy, he's my landlord, his names CJ, he come in whenever he wants, he a real good friend of mine, so… just to let you know." Gabe explained.

Greg shook his head, "I know him, he and my gang are neutral.

"Gangs?"

"Never mind."

After they got settled in, everyone went to bed. Greg was sleeping on a queen size bed with silky sheets and pillows. It was the most comfortable he had ever been, and it was a real change from home. Jerry was in a recliner in front of the TV in the same room, with a blanket and pillow that Gabe supplied him with. As Greg laid in the comfortable bed, he couldn't help but think about what he had gotten himself into. He was an idiot. But it's not like he could go back and change what happened, but if he could he would. He finally made his mind up that he would call Nina tomorrow and let her know he was okay, and maybe invite her up. He then drifted off to sleep very easily in the comfortable bed.

The next morning Greg awoke in a short blur. After he got his focus, he noticed that Jerry was gone, and the light shining through the blinds was giving the room a light blue tone. He got up and looked around, no sign of Jerry. He got some clothes on and started to walk towards his door, where he found a note that read: _Greg, I have gone to work and I should be home for lunch at about three thirty. Jerry has already left for home. Until then, you are home alone, so have some fun and make yourself comfortable. I think CJ is going to drop by to borrow my Playstation 3 though, so expect him. Till later man- Gabe P._

After reading the note, Greg walked out the door and slid down the railing. At the bottom he hopped off and walked into the kitchen. The kitchen looked like it had just been redone, bluish white tiling, the counters were white, with black marble. The dining tale was glass, and the chairs were a shade of white. After examining the room, he went on a search for something to eat, while pouring himslef a cup of **hot coffee**. After searching every drawer, he found a bowl, and a box of 'Foxtails' a new cereal that looked appetizing.

He fixed himself the bowl of cereal, which was cinnamon tasting, and very delicious. After he ate, he put the bowl into the dishwasher, and walked into the living room, to watch TV. He found an interesting show about a hidden sex mini-game in a famous game title.

After relaxing for a few hours, he took a shower and picked up a phone. He dialed Nina's number:

"H-hello?" someone answered.

"Mr. Wood? Is Nina there?"

"No-no stop! I'm trying to talk on the phone Midge. I-I'm sorry what was that Greg?"

"Can I talk to Nina?"

"Well sure." The sound o footsteps followed by the sound of handing the phone to a different person followed.

"Hey, Nina, it's Greg."

"Oh hey, what's up?"

"Not much."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah fine, but I was wondering if you would want to come up here for a little while."

"Oh, sure that'd be great, hold on a sec." there was a brief moment of silence, "Okay, Greg, Tanner will drive me, where's it at?"

"Can you get a hold of Jerry, he knows exactly."

"Oh, okay, I guess I'll see you in a bit."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye." Greg hung up the phone. He then turned back to the TV. A half hour later he found himself bouncing a ball off of the wall over and over again, listening for the sound of a car pulling up. Eventually he heard the sound. He ran down the stairs as if he were five years old and it were Christmas. He opened the front door stood a large buff-looking black man. His face turned into a frown.

"Sup?" CJ asked.

"Oh, hey. You must be CJ." Greg replied.

"And you must be Greg, right?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"Well, hey Greg, I am just here to borrow Gabe's PS3. I'm gonna have a LAN party at my Mansion, we are going to have seven or eight PS3's on a multiplayer death match on the game Battlefield 3, my gang members are going to be playing, it's going to awesome."

CJ walked in and walked out in less than two minutes. Greg found himself again playing with a bouncy ball, waiting for her to arrive. A car pulled up, and Nina got out. Greg greeted her.

--

The door opened, Stephen walked into Connors office, Toni and Connor sitting across from each other at the desk. "So, Steph, how'd it go?" Connor asked.

"Well, sire. Pierce knows." He replied

"WHAT THE FUCK! I'LL KILL YOU!" Connor screamed, bursting into a laugh, as Stephen did too.

"You suck at that, man."

"I know, I know. You did good man. You did good." he pat Stephen on the back.

"So uh, when are we going to… you know." Toni asked Connor

"Kill Max?"

"No."

"Then what?" Connor looked at Toni.

"Strip club."

--

Max was laying on his couch, feeling much better than he did days before, his bruises going away, his body not aching, it was a good day. Out the door it sounded like someone was running own the hall. The door jolted as someone ran into it, like they thought it was unlocked. Max got up and unlocked the door, opening it up to find Pierce on the floor in front of him, holding his nose.

"God, damn it Max."

Max let out a laugh. "You moron. What did you want?'

Pierce became teary eyed as he stood up, holding the blood in his nose, _in _his nose. "The… JCF… you know, Toni, Connor, and their right hand man (I think his name's Stephen), and a few JCF members are going to Las Venturas."

Max helped Pierce to the sink, where he let go of his nose and a bit of blood dropped out. He handed him a paper towel. "How do you know?"

"Informant."

Max shook his head. "I guess that means we're going to Las Venturas. I'm get away. I'm gonna go check with the Chief of SVPD, okay?" Max walked to the phone, sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch.

Max was back on the case, they had a flight out of the city, November thirteenth, at five-forty pm. A four and a half hour flight, supposedly the same one the JCF were going on. It was going to be risky, but this way they could follow them. LVPD was going to have a squad car ready for them as soon as the flight touched down. In two days, they would be in Las Venturas. Max and Pierce got online and started looking for a hotel room to stay in.

They found a good one at the Visage, only ninety dollars a night, and it was four and a half star. Everything was coming into play.

--

Leon was doing good, as the scientists found that the cause of the fire was a Molotov Cocktail, and one witness said it was a young one, named Greg Lane. Leon went to Greg's residence, and found that Greg was long gone, he interrogated Vince, some of his exact words were: "I hadn't seen him." and, "He probably went to one of those small towns, I know he has a thing for Hick women," and lastly, "That little prick was getting on my nerves, now I can get rid of his stuff, and use his room as my workout room."

Having a hunch of where Greg was, Leon began to search for him, in none other than Las Venturas.

Greg found himself alone with Nina inside Gabe's house, it was just after three, and they were cuddled up on the couch watching a movie called '**Family Reunion**' which they both seemed to like, very much. He found himself looking into her eyes, and she was staring back at him. He wanted to kiss her, but couldn't bring himself to do it.

She leaned over to him and started to kiss him, while holding each other. Then front door opened, and they quickly stopped. "Hey, Greg!" Gabe said as he walked into the kitchen, "Who's your friend."

Greg gulped, "This is ah, a good friend of mine, Nina."

"Well, hello Nina, how are you?"

"I'm doing just fine." she replied.

"I'm Gabe by the way," he walked up to her and shook her hand. Greg glanced at the clock, 'Three forty-one' how did that go by so quick?

"So uh, Greg, that Jerry guy called," He starting fixing a hot dog, "He said that a cop just interrogated them and he had a hunch that you were up here, so keep you head down, he's on your trail man."

"I-I will Gabe." The rest of the day flew by, filled with board games, making out, and watching TV. Burning down the club seemed like the best thing that had happened to Greg. At around eight O clock, Nina left, and Gabe arrived home.

Gabe fixed dinner (which were the best burgers Greg had ever had in his life) then Gabe went to his study to take care of some wok stuff, while Greg went upstairs and relaxed, playing Gabe's white PSP2.

_Man, Gabe has it all. Good food, hot cars, plenty of games, and a lot more._

_---_

On November Twelfth, Liberty City awoke to a beautiful sunny day. Phil and Tommy had discovered something that was pretty important, as far as taking down the JCF goes.

They were currently at Phil Cassidy's Army Surplus. Tommy and Phil were talking while their gang members were scattered amongst the area. Claude pulled up in a white Infernus. Claude was beginning to get used to speaking now, and was still dressed with his same old Leather jacket and green Cargo pants. He walked up to Tommy and Phil, who were talking in a small, army-themed green office.

A poster of a half-naked model caught Claude's attention. "Claude," Tommy said, no response. "Claude," Claude was still staring at the poster. Tommy tapped him on the shoulder, he looked at Tommy.

"Yeah?"

"I have something to tell you."

**A/N: Ugh, not one of my better chapters… the next one is going to be awesome though.**


	14. Flight to Las Venturas

**A/N: This chapter contains very strong graphic violence. Discretion is ****advised.**

Claude was sitting in a chair in the "green office" at Phil's army surplus. "So you're telling me, that the JCF leaders are heading to Las Venturas? Why the fuck… would they do that?"

"That's the thing," Tommy walked over towards Claude, pointing at him while using various hand gestures. "They, don't have any reason to go. I mean, they should have plenty of JCF members left up here. Or do they?" Tommy looked up, as if he were thinking.

"Well, what about the Mafia in Venturas? What if they really are running out of men, and are retreating to where they are the strongest? Huh" Phil suggested.

"That could be." Claude pointed out.

"I mean-what Mafia is down there? The Sindaccos right?" Phil shrugged.

"No-no-no-no-no," said Tommy, still using exaggerated hand gestures, "The Sindaccos, were wiped out years ago. I remember when I went to Venturas for my vacation back in July of 2005. Some… Grove Street guy took them off the map, CJ was his name, I think?"

"Tommy," Claude spoke, "Do you know of any other Mafia in that city?" Claude and Phil leaned closer to Tommy, waiting for an answer as Tommy scratched his head.

"I last remember the Leone Family… but we know they're gone." Claude and Phil let out a sigh of disappointment. "Oh! You know who would know though!" Claude and Phil jumped up, "Ken, Rosenberg. He was in Venturas just back in 2004, when the Leone Family Mafia was gone. He knows their gangs better than I do. On a 'business trip' I know because he got jumped and I had to go pick him up."

Claude let out his laugh. Tommy walked over to the door, "Hey! Hey Mario! Get Rosenberg in here!" Mario gave Tommy the okay sign. A fem moments later, Mario was at the door.

"Here he is boss." Mario walked off as Ken came in, everyone staring at him.

"What? What?" He asked, confused.

"Okay Ken," Tommy grabbed him, putting his arm around him, "I need you to think, back in 2004, who was running the Mafia down there?"

Ken looked at Tommy, "Fuck if I know, Tommy!"

"Ken, come on, you've gotta work with me here. Think! Think!"

Ken took a breathe and sat down, putting his hands on his head. "I think it was just a strand off of the Jack Crime Families."

"Really, do you know who was in charge down there?"

"I-I'm not sure, Tommy. I-I-I think it was…. Cruz? Yeah, yeah, Cruz. His first name started with and N… I think… Nicoletti.. Yeah, that's it Tommy! Nicoletti Cruz. And I think his right hand man's name was Padrino. Not sure though."

"Okay, thanks Ken. You've been a help." Ken left the room. It was silent for a second. "We need to book a flight. The same flight they're taking, that way we can keep tabs on them. I don't know where they are going. I'm not sure if they have the Caligula's Casino still."

Claude sighed, "Let's do it."

Slowly the day passed, the sun rising and setting while the people of Liberty wasted their day away. The weather changed, as if winter came early. Francis International Airport had to contact everyone who was scheduled for flight 250, from Liberty City to Las Venturas. Because of the weather alert, they bumped the flight up to eight ten am.

Max and Pierce were awake at five am, at Max's apartment. Out the window, the city's lights were blurry, and the sky was as dark as coffee. Frost had glazed the windows edges, making it cold to the touch. The radio said the expected temperature was twenty-four degrees Fahrenheit, for the afternoon.

The lights in Max's apartment were making it appear yellow, Max was moving back and forth from his living room and bedroom, packing his stuff while Pierce was watching TV, his stuff packed already.

Max walked out of his bedroom carrying a suitcase which he was putting on the couch, "Pierce, get me a cup of Hot Coffee, alright?"

Pierce moaned as he got up, dressed in warm pants and a nice brown leather jacket. After acquiring his cup, Max went to the bathroom and came out still drinking his cup of coffee.

"So Max, got yourself a girl yet?" Pierce asked.

Max glared into Pierce's eyes, finishing up his packing, "Hey Pierce, got yourself a girl yet?" he said, sarcastically.

Pierce put his hand up, "That's a low blow Max." He took a sip of his coffee.

"Then shut up." Max sat down next to him. "What are we watching?"

"The makings of the movie, '**Sex and Violence**'"

Max lifted an eyebrow, "Sounds good!"

"Yeah sex and violence, the two things us detectives love, and only one we get." They laughed.

It was seven thirty-three, and an onyx black limo pulled up to the airport, followed by one sentinel. Four JCF suites got out of the sentinel, and the three leaders got out of the limo. They passed through the security, and they next thing they knew they were entering gate 07. First class, Toni and Connor sat next to each other, Stephen sat behind them, while they were surrounded by Mafia. Everyone in that area was dressed in black.

Max and Pierce were a little more back, in second class, sitting next to each other, Max in the aisle. Tommy, Claude, Mario, Phil, and Ken were all sitting in first class as well, in a different section and on a different side of the AT-400. Slowly the background moved as the plane headed down the runway. Slowly it drifted into the air, and before they knew it, the city was getting smaller as they gained height. They flew over Staunton and starting to turn, flying over Shoreside then heading southeast, towards San Andreas.

The flight was smooth, with very little turbulence. The plane flew over luscious landscape of the state called Liberty. Eventually the landscape disappeared, then they had three hours of water to fly over, which made Rosenberg very uncomfortable.

It was now almost ten am, almost two hours since they left Francis International, and since then the sun began to make it's daily climb into the sky, reflecting off the water brightly. Tommy scanned the sea, watching it below him move by in a repeating pattern.

"Ah crap." Stephen said, behind Toni.

Toni turned around and examined Stephen, who was getting out of his seat, "Somethin' wrong?"

"Restroom."

"Oh." Toni resumed watching the in-flight movie.

As Stephen walked to the bathroom, he found that it was occupied, and the next, and the next one and so on until he came to the last one on the plane. He hoped that it was vacant. As he neared it, he heard a noise. As he got up to the door, there was a bunch of moaning going on inside.

Stephen shook his head, making a face, "Ahh, come on! OPEN UP!" He banged on the door. The moans continued. "You've got to be kidding me!" He banged some more.

A flight attendant walked up to him, she was a short burnet. "Sir, will you stop banging on that door, when the person is done, they'll come out."

"You've got to be kidding me," he spoke fast and unclear, "you think there's only one person in there!" The moans were getting louder and faster. "Get them out."

"Eew, no!" she walked away.

"This is bullshit." Stephen whispered.

Meanwhile, Max was reading a book on the newest weapons, taking an interest in the LX-24 light pistol. It's twice as accurate as the Beretta, more powerful than a Glock (almost as powerful as a Desert Eagle), and it came equipped with a laser, and a silencer. Max wrote down the Ammu-Nation product number in his 'handy-dandy notebook' while Pierce was shaking his head up and down vigorously, listening to heavy metal while the old guy sitting to the left of him was looking at him.

"Hey look," Tommy pointed across the aisles to the other side of the plane. "It's those bastards." Claude shook his head in agreement, he was still reading '**Fame or Fugitive**' They kept their heads low, keeping out of their sight.

Toni was still watching the movie, but got bored of it and took his headphones off. "Hey, Toni." Connor said.

Toni glanced at Connor, "Hmm?"

"Did I ever tell you about the time my dad (when he was still alive) when he took down that thieving bastard who tried to steal his samurai katana?"

"No."

1981, San Fierro, Under Gant Bridge, 10:23 pm.

"Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Yeah! Do it! Hell yeah!" chanted a crowd down in the strip joint around a guy chugging beer.

Al (Connors dad), Connor (when he was only eight years old), Jizzy, and a few guards were upstairs in their offices. Connor was playing in another room, while Al and Jizzy were talking.

"Yes Jizzy, I'm glad we agreed to buy this place together. I really like it. I just have to ask, could we hire some stripper already? These college kids are… pissing me off. I mean, they're asses. And they're dumb. They're dumbasses."

"Yeah, it'll all be cool."

"So Jizzy, I was wondering." The talking continued as a man snuck by them in the hallway, dressed in black and in a ski mask.

When he entered Al's private quarters, he came out holding a rare, expensive, samurai katana Al had bought for ten grand. He rushed by the office they were talking in. Connor came running in, "Daddy! Daddy! Look it! He has your sword!"

Al looked down at Connor, putting down his drink, "What?" He ran to the hallway, sure enough, the guy was sneaking past guards. "Get him!" Al shouted, and the guards took pursuit. Connor stayed behind with Jizzy, as he saw his father run out of the room with a shotgun he picked up off of a rack.

Al ran ahead of the guards, chasing the masked man to the stairs. He took a few random shots that hit nothing but the chairs and wall. The group started down the stairs, going down to floor two. The chase continued through the back room offices, through hallways and downstairs. Al took a few more shots, each time getting closer and closer to hitting his target. Al was gaining on him, he dropped the sword, hoping that it would end the chase. Al still ran towards him. He slammed into the back door, pushing it open, he ran straight into a garbage can, making him trip and slid a few feet.

Al came up to him, Connor watching from a window above. He aimed the shotgun at the perps face and pulled the trigger. Click. Nothing happened. "Damn!" Al screamed, the man on the ground was cowering, in the fetal position. Al looked inside, "Hand me that bat!" A guard came running from the club, holding a bat.

Al took it aggressively, and looked down at the man, who wet his pants and was crying. With all of his might (and Al was a big guy), he smashed the bat into his side, crushing his ribs. With the next few powerful blows, blood started squirting out. Around hit number eight, blood was splashing out in a two foot radius, dotting Al's white shirt with blood. The man stopped whimpering and was unconscious. Al continued to hit his ribs, covering the area with splattered blood. His skin was torn open, and his insides starting to poor out, the entire time Al was cursing, "You stupid piece of shit," and "Bastard mother fucker!" etc.

Eventually he was almost in two parts, his guts slipping out in a large puddle of blood, but Al wasn't done yet. He stepped over the body and spit on it, then used the metal bat as a golf club hitting his face, after he pulled off his mask. With a few good whacks, his head was almost decapitated. He then continued to use all of his force to hit the head, crushing it, deforming it. When he was done, what was left was a battered and torn up, headless body. Al took the head and tossed it over the fence into the sea. He walked back over to the club rigidly and ordered, "Get rid of this mother fucking body."

What happened later was Al found an opportunity arising in Las Venturas, he said his farewells, and left San Fierro for Las Venturas. He kept his gang together until he was diagnosed with cancer, and sent Connor to Liberty. He later died and was replaced by Nicoletti Cruz, while the Mafia 'revolution' happened, and Connor Jack raised as the new leader of the newly renamed the Jack Crime Families.

The flight was almost coming to an end.


	15. Welcome to Las Venturas Baby

The state came in sight in the distance in the clear day. It was freezing cold in Liberty, and was probably going to be extremely hot in Venturas. "This is your captain speaking. We are now entering Las Venturas airspace, we will be landing in just a bit."

Tommy looked over at Ken, who was shaking, trembling. "Ken, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, T-Tommy… I-I-I'm fine."

Slowly they made their way north of Venturas, then started loosing altitude as the approached runway sixty-nine heading south. Music played softly, easing the situation, especially for people like Ken. "I could feel at the time, There was no way of knowing, Fallen leaves in the night, Who can say where they're blowing, As free as the wind, And hopefully learning, Why the sea on the tide," and so on the eighty's song continued.

Although it seemed as if they were picking up speed, they seemed to stay at the same speed. The thrusters shouted on the way down. Once they actually hit the ground, things started shaking up a bit, with the soft music still playing in the background. Slowly the plane moved to its position, and by fifteen minutes later, the flight was over.

Tommy, Claude, Phil, Ken, and Mario were the first group out. "Welcome to Las Venturas baby." Tommy announced as they made their way through the gate. They made they're way into the lobby, then to retrieve their baggage.

Connor, Toni, and Stephen were the second group to exit the plane. "This is Las Venturas? You've got to be kidding me. I thought there'd be like, lights and casinos. And strip clubs, you know? This place sucks." Stephen said as they entered the lobby, looking around. Connor and Toni rolled their eyes.

"Dumbass," Connor said under his breathe.

Finally, Max and Pierce started out the gate, they got their baggage (staying out of the Mafia's sight) and headed outside. Pierce started to worry, as there was no sign of the police cruiser they requested. "Uh, Max, where's our car?"

Max looked around, pedestrians pushing each other out of the way, racing for taxis, but no sign of the police cruiser. On started to drive up in the distance, Max pointed, Pierce let out a sigh of relief. As it drove up, man dressed in blue jeans and a red jacket opened a taxi door and threw out the driver. He got in and sped off, the police cruiser turned on his siren and they were gone into the distance.

"No way." Max said, when it suddenly dawned on him, he put his hands on his face, "God, damn it Pierce, I thought I told you to call LVPD to tell them that our flight was coming in early."

It suddenly dawned on Pierce, "No fucking way. God damn it." Pierce took out his cell phone and dialed LVPD.

"I'm telling you Tommy, Tommy? Tommy, I was so scared, I almost crapped my pants." Ken was talking to Tommy as they headed for the exit.

Tommy was getting irritated by Ken, "Ken! I don't give a shit about a scary movie you saw! Now, we need to find those cars we rented… Aha! The parking lot." The group followed Tommy.

Connors escort was out front, a white limo with black trim, Connor didn't really like it but it was a limo. Behind and in front of the limo were Patriot hummers, with only drivers; the Mafia loaded up in them while Toni, Connor, Stephen and the driver occupied the limo.

Max and Pierce were standing farthest south, they saw the Limo drive past them. Max spotted the limo, "Ah, shit! No! No! No! God damn it. Now we have to fuckin' find them. You get a hold of that station yet?"

"We're sorry, the number you called has been disconnected" a voice said.

"Oh, disconnected my ass! I'll show you disconnected!" Pierce hung up the phone.

Max could easily tell he didn't get though. Max glanced into cars as they passed, he spotted Tommy Vercetti and Claude Speed in a car, a navy blue Admiral, and a white Premier followed them. Every cop who has been in the Vice City area has seen Tommy's face on the wall at VCPD, back in 1985, when Max worked there. _Oh well. _Max dismissed it.

A ring came from Max's pocket, "Hello?" Max answered it.

"Hey Max, it's Joey."

"Oh hey, Joey what's up?"

"Why did you guys leave early?"

"Our flight was bumped up."

"Damn it, you gave me a scare over here. Listen, Max. There has been no sign of the JCF anymore, I drove around earlier, it's like they completely abandoned he city." Joey explained.

"How can that be?"

"I don't know, but I think someone is following me, a brown Washington I can't seem to get out of my rear view mirror. I'm gonna catch a flight to Venturas, okay?"

"No-no you aren't. We had a talk about this the other day, it's too dangerous for you down here."

"You kidding me? I think that guy must be an assassin. Max, someone's out to get me, and I think I'd be more safe over the- No way! It's snowing dude!"

"They bumped our flight up, Francis International must be delaying their other flights."

"I know another guy, has his own plane. Listen, I'll get a ride to your hotel, where are you staying at?"

"The Visage, floor eight, room one-o-three."

"Okay, thanks. Talk to ya later." Max hung up the phone.

"So, what's the word, any updates?" Max asked.

"I've tried like eight times, it says it disconnected." Pierce replied, frustratingly.

"Okay, we'll get a cab to go pick up the cruiser, come on."

Tommy and Claude were driving down the strip, with Phil, Ken and Mario just behind them. The song "Roller coaster of love" was on the radio and booming. Claude and Tommy enjoyed the sights as they drove past the famous casinos and hotels, restaurants and bars, until they reached the end of the strip in the intense traffic. The headed up north, and when they finally arrived, they were at a small apartment complex, a block west of Yellow Bell Golf Course.

The group of five entered their apartment. It was in a fairly good condition, nice couch, a pretty small but still good TV. Okay bathrooms, and two nice looking beds. Tommy opened the door and threw the keys on a small desk to the left. "Make yourselves at home, this is where we're going to be staying for like the next week."

"This-this place looks good. TV's a fraction of the size we have in Vice City, but it's still okay. It seems a little claustrophobic to me." said Ken.

"That's just because this is a hotel room, not a mansion, or apartment, plus we have five people in here, come on." Tommy replied.

Phil started laughing. He sitting on the bed bouncing up and down like a child. "For Christ's sake Phil, quite messing around." Phil stopped, glaring at Tommy with a sort of frown.

Phil got up and walked into the bathroom, whispering under his breathe, "Hard ass."

Tommy ignored the comment. "So, we saw their vehicles parking at Caligula's Casino, so we know that that is where they are staying… or where they work… one or the other. So let's spend the rest of the day relaxing and do whatever we want." Tommy ordered, everyone shook their heads, including Phil, who came out of the bathroom.

By midday, Max and Pierce had their cruiser parked out in the Visage's parking lot. They got into their room (which was very nice), and started getting to work. Max was sitting at the desk, looking at a map of Venturas, marking on it while Pierce was laying on the comfortable bed.

"What about Caligula's?" Pierce asked.

"I doubt it, but it's a start. We've really got no other leads of anywhere else they should be. But there is a meat factory on the other side of town."

"I say we check Caligula's first, I have a feeling about it." Max stood up and turned around.

"Get the keys, let's go." he ordered. Pierce started out after him. They took the elevator down into the casino. The casino floor was huge, the carpets a sort of red and whit mixture, machines everywhere, tables everywhere, in the easternmost corner, there was even an area above that had the high stakes players, overlooking the entire casino (which took up two-three regular floors).

As they walked through, the sensation to play grew large and larger. Pierce could barely contain himself, but Max made sure he didn't do anything stupid. The room was loud, people chattering all over the place, machines were ringing, people were screaming, dealers were talking, music was coming out of various speakers in the room. It was a wonderful casino.

When they opened the door to the outside, the light was blinding. They could see the heat off in the distance, rising off of the ground. The sun was in the middle of the sky, a big bright yellow dot, with no clouds to block it out. It must have been ninety degrees out, a very big change to what Liberty was like earlier. They got into their cruiser and drove over to Caligula's. They sat outside with binoculars and cameras, no signs of Mafia.

Eventually they had been there for a hour, the car was steaming hot and they had to get out. They were parked outside the Pirates in Men's Pants. Max wiped the sweat off of his face and went to put some water on him, from the little moat they had going. Pierce imitated Max. They continued their investigation without talking for the next thirty minutes.

Max and Pierce were getting tired of this. "Just think Max, if they're in there, in that air conditioned, cool casino, while were out here, looking at the buildings… Doing nothin' in this hundred degree heat."

Max ignored him, then he spotted someone coming out of the casino. He hit Pierce on the arm, who wasn't paying attention. Through the binoculars, it looked like Connor and some other guy were talking, Max snapped a few photos for analyzing.

In front of Caligula's stood Connor and Nicoletti Cruz. "So, I really appreciate what you are doing, Cruz."

"Is no problem, Connor." Nicoletti replied with an accent.

"So, I'll go take car of this little 'job' for you." Connor smiled and walked out to a black Patriot. He got in and drove off.

"Should we follow him?" Pierce asked.

"Probably, yeah. But a Police cruiser isn't the best thing for tracking a criminal in. But oh well, it will have to do, let's go."

They followed Connor through Northern Las Venturas, but because they were staying pretty far behind him, the lost him in Eastern Venturas, in a residential area called White Wood Estates. The drove around that area looking for him, but they didn't locate him. After driving around in circle for a while, they gave up, and when they were about to exit the area, they saw a black Patriot pull out of a driveway.

Max decided against following Connor and pulled up in the driveway, because the door handle was broken off, thus it looked like the house was broken into. Max and Pierce got out, ready to flash their badges, while also gripping their pistols. They entered the house in extreme caution.

Nothing seemed wrong, but as the continued to search the house, in one bedroom they found some blood stains. The further they searched, the more cautious they got. They entered the bathroom to find a man in the tub, filled up with steaming water, a bag over his head, and a cut on his throat. The tub was a crimson red.

"Go call LVPD. Tell them what we found." Max ordered.

"If the call even goes through." Pierce replied. When pierce hit redial, he noticed that he had dialed the wrong number, it was 4262, not 4292. He must have pushed the wrong number by mistake. He felt stupid and didn't tell Max.


	16. A New Hope

It was day two in Las Venturas. Tommy, Claude, Phil, Mario, and Ken were relaxing in their hotel room. With nothing currently in action, everyone was entertaining themselves. Claude was watching TV, Phil and Mario were playing a shooting game on the PS2 (which was left in the hotel room), Tommy was reading a note, and Ken was… well he wasn't doing anything.

"Claude, you wanna go to a casino? I ain't got anything better to do." Tommy asked, getting bored of his book.

Claude shook his head, "Anyone else want to go?" Tommy asked. Nobody responded. They got into the blue Admiral and drove down the strip. Lights lit up the sky as it turned from red to dark blue. Traffic moved slowly through the strip, and a song came on the radio which Claude was bowing his head to.

"What is love (love)? Baby don't hurt me! Don't hurt me! No more." The radio blasted. Tommy and Claude were moving their heads up and down. Eventually, Claude hit the window and it shattered. He grabbed his head.

Tommy looked at him. "Ahh fuck. I didn't get car insurance… Oh well, don't worry about it Claude." They parked outside of The High Roller, one of the highest rated casino's on the strip (the clowns pocket was the least rated, and was replaced by a replica Eiffel Tower).

They spent an hour in the colorful casino and they both did terrible. Tommy lost two hundred, Claude lost three hundred. They exited the casino out to the well lit entrance. The air was warm and comfortable, it would be perfect for swimming. They sat at the bench and enjoyed the warm night air.

Tommy cell rang, "Hello?"

"Tommy! Tommy! Guess who it is!"

"What do you want Ken?"

"Well, how much money did you bring?"

"My credit card."

"Oh, well, the hotel room down the way caught fire, a meth lab, almost exploded, so uh, we need to move to a different hotel. We were thinking the V Rock Hotel, that okay?"

"That's fine, be there in a sec. Wait… I thought they was no vacancy there?"

"There is now!" Ken hung up the phone.

Nicoletti Cruz sat in his office, near the top of Caligula's Casino with his feet upon his desk, taking a drag of a cigar. It felt good to be the Don of the Las Venturas Mafia. Anything he wanted he got, weather it was women, guns, strippers, anything.

Connor was sitting in a chair up against the wall to the right of Nicoletti. "So, what was your plan again?"

"Hopefully those detectives followed us. We need your help to take them out."

"Why you to weak to do it yourself Mr. Leader-of-the-Mafia-in-three-cities? Just kidding Connor. Well then I think we'll need to find out if they followed you, eh?" Connor nodded. Nicoletti picked up the phone next to him and dialed in a few numbers. "Hello, George? Yeah. Good. I need a search on the flight manifests from Francis International… Okay. Uh, their names Connor?"

"Max Payne, and Pierce Jefferson."

"Yeah, okay. Manner, Alpha, Xam… Portal, Alpha, Yarn, Neon, Earth… Okay good, now Portal, Intercept, Earth, Crow, Earth… Journey, Earth, Fear, Fear, Earth, Render, Stand, Outer, Neon… Okay, I'll be waiting." Nicoletti hung up the phone. "They're going to hack into their computers, they'll keep us updated."

Connor grinned, "Excellent."

It was getting pretty late, just past ten o'clock, Tommy and his group were loading their stuff into a hundred dollar room. As soon as the got settled in, they realized how large the room was. It had a great view of the pool and was very, very comfortable.

"Umm. Tommy, and Claude. I've been meaning to talk to you." said Ken, approaching the two.

Tommy turned, "Well what is it Ken?"

"In private." The three went into an isolated room. "Okay, you know how I am good with computers? Well, I was browsing the Las Ventura Hospital mainframe-"

"Wait, why the hell were you doing that?" Tommy questioned.

"Nothing better to do." Ken pulled out his laptop. "And I found this." He showed them a list of names. "Look right here," He pointed to a name. "Jack Speed, born on August 14, 1994. Father: Claude Speed. Mother: Katie Zhan Speed."

Claude stared at the scene in disbelief. "Oh my god." He sat down on the bed with Ken, while Tommy stood above them. "I have a son?"

"Who is Katie Zhan?" Tommy asked.

"I-I." Claude was shocked. "I met her at a dojo in San Fierro, when I was dating Catalina. We later met up, she had broken up with that Carl guy, as I with Catalina. We fell in love… but later it got… It got out of control, and it just didn't work out, ya know? We moved, and lived in Las Venturas for a while, then I left her to return to Liberty, I didn't know I got her pregnant."

"Does she still live here?"

Claude shrugged, then looked at Ken. Ken didn't get it until a few seconds later. "Oh! One sec." He went back to his laptop and started looking stuff up for a few minutes. "Uh, yeah… Katie Zhan Speed, at… Hold a sec…" They typing continued, "Almost there…. Just a little more… Okay… Katie Zhan, at… 1888 White Street in… Redsands West."

"Wow." Claude took a deep breath. "I need to talk to her now."

"You have a fourteen year old son Claude… Congrats." Claude smiled. "Now," Tommy headed for the door, "Let's get some rest."

The next morning Tommy and Claude arose before everyone else. At nine am they got dressed and left for Katie's house. Tommy drove Claude through the city which was already seventy degrees out, the sun bearing down on them without a cloud in sight. A typical November heat wave for Las Venturas.

When they neared Redsands, they noticed how good the neighborhood looked. Various people wondering about, others inside their houses, some watering their lawns. Each of them had their own set of problems, and their own lives. It was kind of interesting to think about. They came up to White Street and drove up to the house. "Okay Claude, I'll be waiting out here man."

"Thanks Tommy." Claude stepped out of the car and walked upon the sidewalk, and up the driveway. An AT-400 roared above them leaving the airport, waking up any sleeping neighbors. It's thrusters echoed for a bit.

Claude knocked on the door. An Asian woman with pony tails opened the door. He face turned blank. "Oh my god, Claude. What are you doing here?"

"I just found out something that we need to talk about."

"No Claude, we already tried that, it's not going to work out, I told you I'm done."

She tried to shut the door, Claude stopped it with his hands. "No, if I haven't meet my son yet it's not." She was shocked to hear the words that came out of his mouth.

"Oh my god." She opened the door. "How did you know?"

"A little birdie told me."

Tommy watched curiously from the car, inspecting the situation. Claude disappeared inside, leaving Tommy to sit in the heat. This was going to be a long day.

Claude walked through the neatly organized home. He inspecting the glass coffee table, and took a seat on the beige sofa. The house was pretty small, but it was comfortable. The walls were sky blue, with white trimming, it looked like a middle-class home. She was doing good.

Katie sat down across from Claude. "Where's he at?"

"He's at school."

"Why didn't you-"

"Because I didn't want you to get involved, okay. I didn't think you would be a very good father, with all of your killing, and-and rage."

"Oh I see. But I wouldn't show that side of me to my son."

"So what? You would hide your true self? Besides, we were broken up, it would be better if you didn't get involved."

"I want to see him." Claude leaned foreword.

"No, I don't want you to."

Claude raised his voice, "I have a right to see my son damn it!"

"Okay. You can come buy tomorrow, it's Saturday. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready for work. Goodbye."

Claude got up and walked out. He pulled himself into the passenger seat.

"How'd it go?"

"I get to see him tomorrow."

"Haha!" Tommy slapped Claude on the back, "Alright man, alright. Let's go back to the hotel."

Later that day Katie was at the bank, where she worked. She walked in, "Hey Katie, 'bout time you got here."

"Oh, hi Jay. I know, but get off my back, okay?"

She got ready and walked up to the cash register. A few minutes into her shift a group of men dressed in black burst through the door, wearing masks and wielding high-powered assault rifles.

"Everybody down! This is a raid!" There were five men.

One holding a shotgun ran up to the register, "DON'T MOVE! Touch an alarm and I'll blow you fuckin head off!" He aimed it at Katie's face. She almost started to cry. "Now all you fuckin clerks fill this bag with money if you want to see your kids again!"

"I'm gay!" One shouted. The masked gunman aimed at the person who said it and blasted them, creating a blood bath around him.

"Anyone else want to be a wise-ass? Didn't think so!"

It was only a matter of minutes before the garbage bag was completely filled with cash. Katie tripped a silent alarm. "Good, good, it was a pleasure doing business with you!" The leader yelled.

Cop cars pulled up, surrounding the area. "Oh shit 'T!' They cops! The cops!"

"Damn it! Who the fuck hit the alarm!" He started shooting at random targets. "Come on! There's a back door! The group of men headed out, shooting random innocent people on the way out…

It came later that day on the news.

"Hello, and I am **Julie Chen** new reporter for Liberty City Channel seven news… Wait, what the hell? Anyway, I stand outside of the Las Venturas bank, which has been robbed earlier today. A few were left dead, Jay Keith, Martin Lopez, Katie Zhan, and the rest names are to be withheld. That attacker is thought to be mafia warlord from Liberty City 'Toni Cipriani' although authorities are not sure of this assumption. Here is the tape."

The TV showed figures of a few men in black holding guns, robbing the bank, holding up people, and eventually a gun fired off and they stopped rolling the tape.

At the V Rock Hotel, Claude's face turned purple. All hell broke loose as Claude screamed bloody murder. Knowing this, the Mafia was going to pay, especially Toni. Claude stormed out of the Hotel, heading for the car, probably to pick up his son, who was probably being held at the police station.

Everyone at the hotel let Claude go, without any attempt to stop him. The room was silent after Claude left. Not a word was said the rest of the night.

Back at the crime scene, multiple detectives were at the scene, one shouted. "Damn it! I can't believe this! How the fuck could I be too late?"

Max was sitting on the police cruiser, Pierce standing next to him, they were watching the area, examining the people working. "You know Pierce, this is really getting out of hand. We need to bring these guys down, now."

"I know Max. So where do we start?"

"I would guess… Toni. Let's keep tabs on Caligula's. Follow them. If we happen to get into a confrontation, oh well. But for one thing is for sure. I am NOT going to let these bastards kill any more innocent people. Pierce, let's take these bastards down, for good."

"Alright dawg." The shuffled back into the cruiser and drove back to the Visage, getting ready for a stakeout tomorrow morning, which was going to be a long day. Max ordered his customized LX-34 light pistol to be arranged for pickup at Ammu-Nation tomorrow, along with a few bullet proof vests, etc.

Conflict was rising, people were getting angry. The Mafia had put a pretty large target on their back. It's only a matter of time until something big happens…


	17. The Warehouse

It was the same morning the bank robbery happened. A mysterious man was up before sunrise in Las Venturas, out at the freight depot in southeastern Las Venturas. The area around was deserted, the sound of cars driving by and the city humming was all that was heard.

Headlights light up a small area as a black Alpha car pulled up. A large dark figure got out, in a trench coat, hiding his face as well. Another car pulled up to the darkness, a red Premier.

Two men stepped out and silently walked up to the mysterious figure. One spoke: "Okay sir. Do you have it?"

"Do we have a deal?" The lone one responded.

"If you have it."

He walked back to his Alpha and got a large metal briefcase out of the passenger seat. He opened it up to reveal that he kept his end of the deal. "Okay. It's a deal. We will be at your side."

Back at Nicolettis office, things were starting. "So, Connor of the JCF. In order for me to help you. I think I'm going to need a little insurance." He spoke jittery and almost raspy. "Not that I don't trust you, but I guess it's not really insurance, more of and exchange. More like, you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours."

Connor shook his head. "I need you to… retrieve some cash in exchange for my services," Nicoletti continued, "I want you to organize a bank robbery. We need cash, and this will cover the weapons I will order to take care of these, cops. Better to call them cockroaches, as you seem to not be able to get rid of them, I will help you exterminate them. But the poison costs money, you see what I mean?"

"Yes, Mr. Cruz. I see."

"The bank shouldn't be too hard to hit, you can probably hit it today. The security isn't that good. Good luck, Mr. Jack." Connor got up and exited the office.

Later that day, Connor was sitting aside as Toni and a few of the Liberty City JCF gang members were getting ready to go rob the bank. Down below Caligula's in the underground parking lot, a select few JCF members loaded up, along with Toni. Connor wasn't going to be in on this one. They each were equipped with one bullet proof vest under their black long sleeve shirt, MP5's and high powered M14 assault rifles, and a ski mask.

The van sped off towards the bank. It was a quick job, they got in their and yelled, got the cash, then eliminated a few of the civilians and clerks at the bank after the alarm was sounded. It wasn't until they exited the back door that the real action happed.

The door burst open, Toni and a JCF ran through, followed by three more JCF. They made their way through a small alley and out to the street, where two police cars skidded up.

"Take cover!" Toni ordered. His men his behind a few boxes, trash cans, etc. The cops dived out of their cars as the were being covered with bullet holes. The car further away from the groups started leaking gas. The cops were quickly taken out, with no damage done to the JCF group.

"Damn it! Where the hell is that getaway driver?"

The Police cruiser across the street became engulfed in flames, sending black smoke billowing into the sky. The car would combust if the fire reached the gas tank. Down the street, a police Rancher sped towards them at full speed.

Toni pointed at it and yelled, "Fire!" Sparks emitted from the Rancher as bullets pierced it's frame. The windshield shattered and the driver was killed. It lost control and crashed into a small shop along the road. The black getaway van suddenly appeared, with three Police Cruisers behind it.

As they neared, Toni's men fired at the cruisers, one lost control and smashed into a pole, disabling the engine. The van stopped and the men loaded up, the police nearing. As they drove, the back doors on the van were opened. From here Toni and a few men were taking out the cops that followed. They chase continued through the city around various neighborhoods, areas, etc. The chase eventually ended up on the Julius Thru Way. Cops never seemed to stop coming. A chopper hovered above the van, while a SWAT van sped up on the Thru Way.

"Get the fucking rocket launcher!" Toni ordered.

The men picked it up and passed it to Toni. "Can't this thing go any faster?" One asked. The chopper became visual. Bullets whizzed past the van as SWAT fired at it from the chopper and the ground as well. Toni pulled the trigger. Smoke pushed out of the back of the launcher then it led a trail up to the chopper in a split second.

The sky lit up in a fireball, small pieces of fire covered debris dropped to the ground. The SWAT van lost control after being fired at. Toni sped off and dropped by Pay N' Spray, changing the color of the van to purple, and changing the license plates. They returned to Caligula's. It was a Successful Mission.

Just after the robbery Max and Pierce were at the bank. Max was sitting on the police cruiser, Pierce standing next to him, they were watching the area, examining the people working. "You know Pierce, this is really getting out of hand. We need to bring these guys down, now."

"I know Max. So where do we start?"

"I would guess… Toni. Let's keep tabs on Caligula's. Follow them. If we happen to get into a confrontation, oh well. But for one thing is for sure. I am NOT going to let these bastards kill any more innocent people. Pierce, let's take these bastards down, for good."

"Alright dawg." The shuffled back into the cruiser and drove back to the Visage, getting ready for a stakeout tomorrow morning, which was going to be a long day. Max ordered his customized LX-34 light pistol to be arranged for pickup at Ammu-Nation tomorrow, along with a few bullet proof vests, etc.

The alarm sounded at five am. "Hello, this is your five am wakeup call, I an Tommy Nightmare Smith, and you're listening to, The Dust! Stay tuned for Free Bird."

Max leaned over and turned the radio off. He looked outside at the lights that the city produced. He awoke Pierce and Joey, and they three got ready for the stakeout. Before they started, Max drove down to the Ammu-Nation in southern Las Venturas. Joey waited in the cruiser while Max and Pierce went inside. A bearded man handed him the case the LX-34 came in.

"Eight hundred and fifteen dollars, please." he said in a southern accent.

"You know where things don't cast eight hundred dollars Max? The Precinct."

"Yeah, but they have crappy weapons, and I want good quality weapons."

"That's right sir, we sell nothing but the best here. By the way, I was wondering if you would want to become an Ammu-Nation bronze member. You can upgrade past that, but Bronze you get the Ammu-Nation monthly magazine, and a five percent discount. Only twenty bucks, good deal, limited time offer."

"Sure, I'll take it." Pierce rolled his eyes. Max spent the next five minutes filling out papers. The clerk handed him a car, and Max bought some clips for the LX-34. "Let's go."

"It's about time!" They headed out to the car.

Later that morning Pierce was staring through the binoculars at Caligula's while Max and Joey were examining his weapon.

Max was assembling it, when he got done he let Pierce hold it. "Damn man, it's lite." He aimed it ahead. "Ooh, and it feels good, a nice grip."

"Yeah," Max bragged, "It has a customized grip to fit my hands better, and it has customizable attachments to add on it. It's power is about two times the standard pistol. Plus it has a build in laser sight, and an attachable flashlight."

"It looks a lot like the SOCOM pistol."

"Not when I take the flashlight off."

"Dang. That's a beaut, Max."

"Thanks Joey. By the way, how are your legs?"

"They're good. Stupid bandages make my pants look weird though."

Minutes passed and the sun crept up above them creating ninety degree weather. They had all of the windows rolled down and they tried to keep casual. "Who's that?" said Pierce.

Max looked through the binoculars. "Toni… and Connor… We need to follow them."

They started the car up. Staying a few cars behind Toni, he never knew that they were being followed. They eventually came to rest at a warehouse, somewhere in eastern Las Venturas. Multiple cars were parked out front, of a higher class including sports cars, racing bikes, racing cars, etc. Max parked a ways down the street.

"Come one, be careful guys. Don't make a sound." They trio got out and headed for the warehouse, bearing weapons as they entered through a side door. The made their way through a hallway that ran parallel with the edge of the warehouse. They traveled upstairs into an empty office.

"Where is everybody?" Joey asked.

Max opened a door to a catwalk above the warehouse. Boxes and crates populated the room below. A large group of men were also below, patrolling the area, keeping it secure. Ahead, through the path ways between the crates and boxes below, three men stood. One large, one more slim, and one _in a trench coat._

"Oh my god." Max whispered.

"What?"

"That's the assassin." Max pointed out.

"The crappy one that tried to assassinate us more than once?" Joey asked, Max shook his head.

"Look! Up zere! On ze catwalk!" A French voice called out. Max, Pierce and Joey were called out, discovered. The entire room looked at them as they began to shoot. People everywhere screamed amongst the gunfire, the three (Toni, Connor, man in trench coat) exited the warehouse, leaving their thugs to take care of the three intruders.

Up above the catwalk they were exposed, below would be cover and they could make their way through the warehouse , eliminating the enemies. The three dived off of the catwalk, landing on boxed below.

They started at one end of the warehouse, firing at any threats. Slowly they advanced, around every corner was someone ready to kill them. People were hiding amongst the various crates, popping up every three seconds to randomly shoot and hope that they shot one of the intruders. Max plowed through them like they were nothing, no match for him. With one shot of his LX-34, most of them went down.

Pierce did the best he could, coming from behind Max, managing to kill any Max left alive. Joey was covering the back with his two sawn-off shotguns. He didn't kill too many people. By the time they reached the end the room had been ridden of the enemy and filled with bodies. They briefly searched the area then exited to the street.

When they exited the warehouse, the cars that were parked along the street were gone, nobody was in sight. "Call the station Pierce. Tell them to get the coroner over here."

Pierce search his pockets for his phone. A yellow Sentinel drove by, Max got a brief look at man in a trench coat driving before gunshots rang out. Two French men were in the back, holding MP5's, firing at the three, who dove for cover, nearly dodging bullets. On the ground, Max returned fire, popping a tire as the car sped off.

"Holy shit! The-the-the Smiths!" Joey cried.

"W-what?" Max asked. "The… Smiths?"

"Yeah, yeah. I met them in prison. Ruthless duo, they are brothers. Jose, and.. And… Sean. They're French.

"What? Smith is not a French name, is it?" Max asked, confused. He looked around, making sure they didn't return.

"No, they changed their names as soon as they got into the country, thought they could outsmart the law. But they didn't. Anyway, they were released back in 2000."

"Damn it! More, more, more! There are always more! Damn it!" Pierce cried.

"Okay, okay listen." said Max, "The man in the trench coat was talking with Toni and Connor, meaning that they must know that Joey got out of jail."

"Oh shit!" Joey walked back and fourth nervously.

"So… So… They must know about us now. Ah shit, this is it guys. We have to them down. Before they take us down." said Max

"No, the precinct won't attack the Mafia." said Pierce, looking at Max.

Max tilted his head, "You're right. They won't… But we will."

Joey interrupted. "Okay, you know something, these Smith brothers are powerful people. If they are hired to kill us, they won't stop until they're dead, or their job is done. We are in serious shit guys. They can get their hands on the latest stuff on the market."

"We need to find out where the Smith Brothers are then, and take them out. It's going to be our only choice if we want to live."

"Yeah, I agree Max."

"Let's go back to the hotel, hopefully they don't know that we're staying there." They headed back to the Cruiser. "We need to plan our next attack."


	18. That Night at the Visage

The day passed by slowly in the Visage as Max, Pierce and Joey were trying to locate the Smith brothers. So far there were no leads as to their location except a yellow Sentinel, or Sentinel XS. Nobody got a good enough look at the description, and the license plate wasn't even there.

Max was searching in the SVPD database through the car sales in San Andreas, for a 1986 model of a Sentinel XS. So far, no results were found, and Max was getting tired of this searching. He closed his laptop and put a pillow under his head. Before he knew it he dozed off.

"Max," Joey said, tapping on Max's shoulder, "hey Max. Maaaax! MAAX!"

Max jumped, "Ah-uh, err, what?" Max barely managed to get out. Joey slightly laughed.

"C'mon Max, Pierce fell asleep, let's go get a beer at the bar downstairs."

Max sat up, rubbing his eyes as he yawned. "W-what time is… it?"

"Just after seven." Joey headed for the door with Max following him. They continued down the hallway to an elevator and arrived on the casino floor. Some seventies song was playing while they continued across the gambling floor.

They reached the bar and sat down. "What would you like, sirs?" asked a good-looking pretty young girl.

"I'll have a beer." said Joey.

"Oh, um, whiskey, please. Thanks." Moments passed, they sat at the bar quietly.

"So, what are we gonna do Max, really?"

"Well, if we can't find them… and I don't think we can. We're just going to have to let them find us."

"Too risky."

"What other choice do we have, Pier-I mean Joey."

"Sirs." The young woman handed them their drinks. Max took a long drink.

"We need to find that yellow Sentinel. It has to be somewhere in the city, why don't we search for it?"

"What are the odds of us finding one car, out of all the cars in this city man? Come on?"

"We don't any other choice though, Max."

Max took another large drink, it was almost gone. "Fine. We'll do it your way then. I just hope they don't catch on, because if they do, we could get ambushed. They probably have their watchdogs following us around."

"I know that feeling. Every time to turn a corner, you're afraid someone is looking for you. The feeling of being watched when you are all alone. Like there are eyes staring at you through the darkness. I hate it." A bell rang in the background, followed by screaming. Someone had juts won that Turismo that was on display in the middle of the room.

"Hah, luck bastard." Max said.

Pierce woke himself up. He looked around the room for Max. There was no sign of him. "No way." Pierce was still half asleep. "Max got kidnad-kidnad-kid-kid… damn." He collapsed back onto the bed.

"Come on, think Max. Think. Think damn it, think!" Max said to himself.

"Uh, sir, would you like another?" Max shook his head, the gal came back with another Whiskey.

"Come on, Max… You always figure something out… Come on!" Max sat there with his hands pressed against his forehead, trying to sort through this information. He took another large drink of the Whiskey. It wasn't until five minutes later that Max noticed Joey was gone.

Pierce stumbled out of the doorway into the hall. He locked the door and headed towards the elevator. He still felt groggy from his allergy medicine, but he wanted to find Max. With one eye closed, he made his way to the gambling floor. People stared at him, he looked like an overworked workaholic… It looked as if he were still asleep. On the ride to the gambling floor, everyone in the elevator went to the opposite side as Pierce.

He made his way around the casino like a zombie, looking for Max. He spotted Joey at a machine. Pierce tapped him on the shoulder, "What-Pierce?"

"Yay… whers Mac?"

"You okay buddy? You should get some coffee. Max's over at the bar."

Pierce waved goodbye to Joey and stumbled over to Max. Pierce sat next to him. Max was at work.

"Think… think… okay Max. So here's what you have so far… Kingpin knows the Smith bothers, who are working for the Mafia," Max spoke very fast, to himself. "which means that Toni, Connor, and that… Stephen guy? Yeah, they have to be down here, in relation to Nicoletti Cruz, plus his right hand man, Padrino… which means they must know about this Kingpin assassin and the Smith Brothers. Come to think of it, Nicoletti probably got the Smith Brothers hired by kingpin, which means wherever Kingpin will be, the Smith Brothers will be, if we locate the Smith Brothers, then we have Kingpin, if we take out Kingpin, we'll have taken out their assassin, which would mean, that the Mafia would either have to take us out themselves, or hire another assassin to o their dirty work… By then we would started getting some information out of Kingpin, and use that to take down the Mafia, one step at a time going up the ladder. That means taking out their leaders, Stephen, Toni, then Padrino…. Which would get the LV Mafia good and pissed off, making them come after us… but if we get to Nicoletti and take him out, they would've lost their leader. Then we would just have to take out Connor… and that would solve our problems."

Because… The Mafia will be confused without their leaders, that's all that really matters. We would probably also have to take out the Cruz family tree, we already know that the Jack and the Cipriani family's are taken out… not too sure about that Stephen out though… oh well, by then we would have done enough damage to the Mafia here, and in LC. They will be at an all time low, very weak, allowing others gangs to finish them, then we would have no more Mafia problem. Goddamn Max, I think you've done it again. Goddamn, you're a genius Max. I don't believe how I can come up with this stuff. Yeah. I feel good. You've got it!"

Pierce stared at Max, who was writing in his 'Hand Dandy Notebook' everything he had just said. Everyone at the bar moved over a couple seats away, to get avoid Max, while the bartenders stared at him, they were uneasy. Max looked up, excuse me, bartender? Another whiskey please?"

"I think you've had enough."

"Ahh.. Come on, just one more…"

"Okay." She handed him a drink.

"So, Max." Piece said, sitting by Max.

"Oh, hey Pierce."

Pierce started laughing, "That's Max. Always thinks better with some alcohol in you."

"So… are you saying I am an alcoholic?"

"What-no-no Max, I am just saying that you… That you-you… Ah fuck it, just forget it Max. Excuse me? Can I get a Martini please?" Pierce looked at Max. "So… do you have it all figured out Max?"

"Yeah… I think so… But I wouldn't get too attached to any plan, mine yours or Joey's. Because its like I always say, 'Thing never turn out the way you think they will.' And actually, that phrase in pretty safe to live by. Four out of five times, it's true."

"Mother fucker! Stupid Casino asshole machine!"

Max sighed, "Joey…"

Joey stomped over to the bar. "I'm going to bed! Damn it! Fucking machines take my money." Joey walked over towards the elevators. "Computer assholes. Technology bitches." He left Max and Pierce at the bar laughing.

"So-so how much money do you think he lost?" Pierce asked, taking a sip of his Martini.

"How much money does he have?" They laughed. "Um, can I get another? Thanks." Max took another drink.

They spent a few more hours on the casino floor, not so much gambling, but drinking and talking. It was around eleven, and they weren't even tired. Later that night they returned to the hotel room to find Joey passed out on the floor. They ignored him and went to bed in their own rooms, drunk…

The next morning birds were chirping outside of Max's window. His head ached at such an intensity that they were hurting him. "Stupid dumbass birds!" He shouted… "Owwww!" He put a pillow over his head and continued sleeping.

Pierce was in the other bedroom, sleeping as well, except he had earplugs and wasn't hurting at all. Joey awoke an hour ago, at six and was playing a videogame that came with the room. He was making scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast, along with either milk or orange juice. Joey walked over to Max's room. He opened the door. "Max, get up! Time for breakfast man!"

"Nooooo! You're being to loud dumbass! Owwww! Fuck! Owww!"

"Holy crap Max!"

"Shut up-uh-a-owwwwww"

"Are you hung over Max? No way! An you-you're on the job man! A drunk cop! How often to you see that?" Joey quickly closed the door as a shoe came hurdling towards him, followed by a thud.

"Owwww!" Joey shrugged and walked over to get Pierce up for breakfast.


	19. Chance Favors the Prepared Mind

**A/N: In this chapter, there is a chase scene. I'm nto sure how well I described it, but I did my best, and the chase is actually set in the game's enviornment, so you could track exactly where they ran... just wanted to point that out. Enjoy.**

Later that morning Max's pain subsided. He finally got up and ate breakfast with Pierce, Joey was in the living room area. Eventually he got up around noon. As he walked by the kitchen, he heard Joey talking on the phone, "nor-bye." Joey hung up the phone.

Max sat down to a breakfast of cheap cereal. Joey had eaten everything else, but it was better than nothing. He finished then headed towards the bathroom, passing by Pierce on the way there.

Out in the parking lot, French goons were rigging Max's Police Cruiser. By the time they were finished, they were about to head out of the parking garage.

"Did you fix ze timer?" Asked one.

"It waz… complicated. But I zinc so.

The sound of an explosion was heard behind them. "Son of e bitch. You dumbass. Now we have to do it ourselves."

Something exploded. Max jumped, "Shit."

"The fuck? You hear that guys?" Pierce asked as they ran over to the window.

Down below a few people ran around, out in the congested parking garage. A Police Cruise was engulfed in flames, eating away at the car. Max's heart jumped as he reached for his side. His LX-34 rested safely within his holster. He let out a sigh of relief.

"Fuck." said Pierce.

"The hell? That's our car!" Max and Pierce rushed out of the room, leaving Joey behind. The exited into the parking garage on the second floor, running over to the burning car. Sirens signaled fire trucks. "Holy shit!" Max and Pierce examined the car. "Fuck. Another assassination attempt." said Pierce.

"Shit!" Max threw his hands up, "They know where we are." Cars sped by, Max spotted a certain one. "Pierce! Hit the deck!" The two dropped to the ground hard. The yellow Sentinel sped by with the sound of gunfire. After a few shots Max and Pierce got back up. The car was doing a lap around the parking lot. Pedestrians fled the area at the sound of gunshots.

Max dashed to the nearest car, a blue Vincent, and shattered the windows. He hopped in the drivers seat, Pierce joined him in the passengers seat. The chase began.

The yellow Sentinel passed again, an assassin shooting at the blue Premier. They pulled out of the parking spot and tailed the Sentinel, dodging gunfire and parked cars along the narrow path. The two cars went into the lower level of the outdoor parking garage. Taking a quick left then right, the headed out of the Visage's main entrance. The firing seized temporarily as speed picked up on the strip, both vehicles dodging cars. They came to the first right and took it, screeching as they drifted into the turn, leaving tire marks. The firing began again, every once in a while a bullet out a hole into the cars framing. They drove south of the Visage, over Harry Gold Parkway.

The gates to the airport were ahead, The yellow Sentinel took the hard right, nearly crashing into a forklift that was on the road. Max did the same, nearly missing the forklift. Max caught up, both cars speeding up. Using the PIT maneuver Max caused them to crash into a telephone pole, sending one of them flying out the backseat. Max neared, the yellow Sentinel sped off, leaving one behind.

"Take the wheel, keep on them!" And with that, Max turned, nearly hitting the pole himself, diving out of the car, rolling a few feet. Pierce quickly slid into the drivers seat and began chase.

Max scrambled to get up, his LX in hand. The assassin had hopped the wall in front of them. Max did the same. They raced through the middle of the apartment complex, running through the bushes to the northernmost side. The assassin managed to hop onto the carports covering, climbing onto it. Max did the same, hitting his knee on the way up, giving it a numb feeling. the assassin was hopping onto the apartment building's roof. It was a four foot jump to grab the ledge, Max was right behind him, he almost fell. The roof was quite small, the assassin slid off a small slanted are to the ground below, Max still right behind him, doing a roll as he hit the ground. They raced across the street, dodging traffic and jumping into someone's yard on the left side of the intersecting street.

They two dodged people sitting in the yard and headed around the northern side of the house, hopping over another fence to the street. Max chased the assassin down an alley directly to the right of the street and them as well. He was lucky the assassin dropped his gun, and Max wasn't about to kill his only lead. Down the alley they dodged trash bags, cans, and dumpsters until a little ways down the alley they hopped into yet another persons backyard. They dashed through, nearly falling from a tight change in direction, then crossing an empty road, through another persons yard across the street, over a fence and into another alley. The chase became slower as the both of they were getting slightly tired, Max's chest and legs beginning to feel numb from all of the fence hopping. In a desperate attempt to loose Max, the assassin hopped another wall, then dashed across the street they had once been at before, Max seemed like a magnet that would never go away, as he was still right behind the assassin. They both began to breath hard.

They headed across another street and hopped another painful wall into another apartment complex. They sped up as they dashed down a walkway into an enclosed area. From here the headed south, Max getting closer and closer to his target. They were but a mere five feet away when they hopped a wall and ran through a small garden of bushes, and across another street sideways, hopping over hedges and running through a very grassy, bushy area. The airport became visible, only two houses ahead. Max hit a bush and lost his footing, catching himself before he fell. "Shit!" He screamed. He hopped a last wall.

The assassin seemed to be going fifty miles an hour, an crashed over his own foot, falling to the a cement driveway with a sonic boom. Max hopped over the wall, pulling out his LX. "freeze dirt bag."

They were in a driveway, a house to their right, a tree and grass ahead of them. They were both tired and covered in perspiration. Pedestrians nervously walked away at the sight of a cop and his gun.

"It's over." Max said. "Who are you? Sean?"

"No.. Mr. Payne. I am Jose"

"Why do you sound happy? Don't you know you are going to jail?"

"I highly doubt that… Mr. Payne."

"It's Detective Payne." Jose laughed.

The cold feeling of a gun barrel pressed against Max's neck. "Drop the weapon, son." That voice. It sounded familiar. "Drop it!" Max dropped his LX, the man kicked it away. Jose arose and walked next to the man holding Max up. "Now… get on your knees and put your hands behind your head." Max looked at their shadows, Max was on his knees with his hands behind his head, a gun pointed at the back of his head, a large man held the gun. It looked like he was dressed in a trench coat.

A sharp pain entered Max's neck, he let out a small scream and fell to the ground. He still felt conscious. A few second later that consciousness drifted away, his world went black.

Around the same time, Leon had discovered where Greg was hiding. He arrived at Gabe's house.

Greg looked out the window in shock (he was the only one home). He dashed downstairs into the garage, hopping onto a newly bought PCJ bike that Gabe had. He opened the garage door and sped out, nearly hitting his head on the garage door on his way out. Leon had just gotten out of his car when he spotted the door opening up. He hopped into the Cruiser and started it up. The bike sped out, Leon gave chase.

This chase lead halfway across Las Ventures, through Prickle Pine, then up and down The Strip. That was when Greg realized he couldn't get Leon off of his tail. He lead Leon through a series of dangerous turns until the eventually came into an enclosed area surrounded by apartments. A ramp was Greg's last exit. They both sped towards it at a decent speed.

Jose and Kingpin were standing over Max's body. "Are they on their way over yet?" Kingpin asked in a deep voice.

"Yeah, just around the corner, but that damn Vincent is still on their tail."

"Let's hurry this up then." Kingpin smiled, "We got him. It's like I always say. Chance favors the prepared mind."

"That it does." Jose agreed.

It was then that to their left they saw a bike rise into the air, hitting there ground and taking a hard right. A Police Cruiser followed. Unable to turn as well as the bike, it skidded sideways at a great speed. Jose and Kingpin cursed as they dove out of the day. The Cruiser slid over Max's body, leaving it untouched. It eventually came to a stop, crashing sideways into the houses garage. Leon got out of the car, noticing Max was on the ground.

He looked at the two who were standing, one held a gun. "Oh shit!" Leon pulled out his Beretta and started firing. They two dashed into the road, not returning fire, where a yellow Sentinel stopped. Leon dashed out into the road as they drove off, firing at the Sentinel

Pierce came up behind Leon, not knowing it was him, just that it was a cop. He turned into the driveway and got out in front of the house. He rushed to Max's side.

Leon kept shooting as the Sentinel came back. He reloaded and kept firing. The Sentinel sped towards him, picking up speed. Pierce glanced at the cop, noticing his long blonde hair, "Leon." he whispered. Pierce joined Leon from the sidewalk, firing at the Sentinel which was speeding up. It got to close, "Leon! Run!" Pierce shouted, looking at the sentinel, examining the driver.

Leon made a dash for the driveway and failed. The yellow Sentinel smashed into Leon, sending him tumbling over the car, breaking the windshield. Leon fell to the ground. The Sentinel disappeared behind the turn.

Pierce stood shocked. Not only at Leon getting hit, but the driver of the Sentinel. He looked like someone Pierce knew, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Knowing this, he filed it in the back of his mind then rushed to Leon's aid.


	20. Hell on Earth

It that short minute period, Max nearly got run over by a car, Leon got hit by a car, and now Pierce saw the face of the notorious Kingpin. It looked so familiar. As if he say him before. Kingpin had pretty long blond hair, and Pierce had never got to know anybody that had blonde hair.

Pierce stopped thinking.

"Uhhh." Leon moaned.

Pierce looked down at him, "Leon? What are you doing here?"

"Uhhh."

"Oh, Sorry. Is anything broken?"

"Ah!" He shook his head no.

"Are you okay? How bad does it hurt?"

"It feels like I got hit by a car."

"Are-"

"I'll be fine, go check on Max. Damn it."

Pierce nervously made his way towards Max. He lay upon the ground lifeless, no blood. He neared Max and spotted a grey dart in the back of his neck. _Poison? _He rushed over to the body. He pulled it out of his neck with little force. A small dot of blood withdrew from the hole, sliding down to Max's shirt collar. Pierce examined the dart.

Leon stumbled over to Pierce, falling twice. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah. A dosage of Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride." Leon raised an eyebrow. "Sleep Aid."

"So… a tranq?"

"Yeah. I guess they were going to take him hostage."

"So why are you here?"

"I was tracking a man who burned down a club in Los Santos, south of here. He fled here, I wrecked my car in a chase, which just happened to be here." Pierce looked at the crashed cruiser. "I saw that Max needed my, my help. So I-I helped him…"

"Thanks." Pierce hit Leon on the arm.  
"Owwwwww!"

"Ha. Sorry. By the way, you're bleeding."

"What?" Leon put his hand on his forehead, his hand was coated red. "Damn."

Pierce walked over to the Vincent. He search the car and came out with a water bottle.

"Will that wake him?"

"Should. It's not a strong sleep aid." Pierce trickled half the bottle over Max. He coughed and sat up, wet with water.

"Uhhh. I feel drowsy. Where's Kingpin? What…" Max looked around.

"Got away." said Leon.

"Damn it. Wait. Leon? The hell?"

"He-he was, chasing a criminal from Los Santos." said Pierce.

"Oh. That's right."

"So. What's been going on, guys?" Leon asked.

"Well, aren't you going to track your suspect?" Pierce asked.

"Just tell me what's been going on, please."

"Okay. We started on a case back in Liberty, the Shoreside Murders. And we uh, got ourselves into a lot of stuff. Now were are tracking the Jack Crime Families leaders, Connor and Toni here. We are trying to take them all down, one by one, since the Station won't help."

"Uh huh."

"I guess it's kind of ironic, because well. We are chasing them, but they keep coming back to us, to finish us off. I guess we are just that of to get rid of, huh Max?"

"Well, then. I'll stay and help you."

"No-you have another job, Leon." said Max.

"No, I hate my job. I don't give a shit about Greg, I hate my apartment, I hate my roommates. I hate Los Santos. I might as well help you. So, do you know who the assassin is?"

"Yeah, a guy that goes by the name, Kingpin."

"He thinks he's one?"

"No, he just goes by that name. If you ask me, he overestimates himself. He sucks at assassinations."

"Ohh."

"Yeah," said Pierce. "I saw his face. It looked so familiar. I felt like I knew him. Or saw him before. Or something. I-I don't understand."

"You should have heard his voice," said Max, "I heard his voice, it sounded… almost like…. Like…. A cross between a deep-voiced wrestler, and someone else… like… someone I knew." Max didn't want to say who it sounded like.

"Damn."

"So, what's you current goal?" Leon asked.

"To take down Kingpin. We are going to start with his employees, the Smith Brothers. They're always around when he tries to take us out… which he failed, many, many times." explained Max.

Max's cell rang. He picked it up to hear Joey's voice. "Max! Max! Max!"

"J-Joey?"

"Yeah! I found out where the Ste-Smith brothers are."

A black Rumpo Van sped down the highway past Bone County towards San Fierro. The world was grey, the road was shiny, half of San Andreas was soaked with rain. Rain beat upon the car and everything else, making lights seen though the windshield blurry and unclear. The ride was smooth and undisturbed, not a single delay occurred.

The four that sat in the van sat quietly, not a word was said, only the sound of the windshield wipers and the rain were making noise. Max was at the wheel, Pierce in the passengers seat, Joey and Leon in the back. They brought an arsenal, a variety of handguns, hand machineguns, a few assault rifles, a variety of shotguns including the Striker, bullet proof vests, and hand grenades. A few select boxes carried satchel charges, more popularly known as the plastic explosive C4.

Leon was browsing the equipment, loading himself up while Joey watched the road with Max and Pierce. Over the San Fierro bay, the skyline of San Fierro coming into visual contact, outlined with pale grey sky. "Joey, if your wrong I will be pissed." Max spoke, calmly and empty mindedly.

"Don't worry Max, trust me." Joey loaded up a round of shells into the Striker, cocking it, showing readiness.

"Take the fuckers out before they take us out." said Pierce.

Max had lost respect for the law. He only wanted to take out the Mafia, making the world a better place. He's doing this because it's all Max has left, all he has now is his pride. He need to take down these 'dirt bags' (as he like to refer to them). He doesn't care if he gets arrested, it has to be done. He had lost his family, then his friends. Max had spent over three-thousand dollars in is savings on the weapons he would use to take them down. This is it, his time to shine, to show the world that he can turn the game upside down, what he is capable of, show them he can make a difference. He prepared himself for what was coming up a fight for justice, a fight for freedom, a fight for a better place to live.

The once great city of San Fierro has gone downhill since 2000, when the drug 'Valkyre' was introduced. It corrupted the city, taking over like a virus in a matter of months. San Fierro was now, virtually, the city with the highest crime rate in America, surpassing Liberty in 2003. Around every street corner, every mall, every store, basically anywhere, junkies and druggies habited the area, polluting the city. Most of the apartments were abandoned, people wasting their lives consuming the green poison. The drug has turned some people into paranoid maniacs. Most of the local residents have named San Fierro 'hell on earth.'

Slowly and smoothly the van crossed over the San Fierro Bay via the once great Gant Bridge. It was like entering another world. Bums and junkies littered the sidewalks, standing around burn barrels, selling drugs. It disgusted Max.

The Van slowly approached one of the buildings in Downtown San Fierro. Max turned the key and the engine shut off, a silence followed. They group was mentally preparing for what lied ahead, one of the last steps to taking down the Mafia, from here on things would happen in a chain reaction, Max had everything planned out in his mind.

Here they would take down the Smith Brothers, while also eliminating their French Thugs, they were going to set explosives in the building, taking them all out. Kingpin would either be there, or he will arrive there sooner of later, seeing as his employees were to be killed. They would track him to a secluded area, where it would be safe to attack and kill Kingpin, eliminating the chance of further assassination attempts, eliminating one of their roadblocks. From here on they would assassinate Toni, Connors right hand man, Connor, then Nicoletti and his high ranking guards. With the damage done to the Mafia at this point, they would be finished. In time, the Mafia would be wiped off the map of Las Venturas, and by the look of things, Liberty City as well.

Max could be putting attention on him by the media and other authorities, outlasting him. In Max's mind, from this point on, Max would be known as a Vigilante.

Things never turn out the way you think they will.

Max turned to the back of the van. He maneuvered himself past the boxes and weapons to get to a bench, Pierce followed. Max too his old leather jacket off. The fun part began. Everyone searched through the crates, getting equipped. Max put the tactical vest on under his white collar shirt, he left his tie on. In the holsters under his arms Max packed two Colt .45's. On his tactical belt he fitted a flash grenade, and a frag grenade, along with his LX-34, and a Glock, as well of boxes of ammo. He had a strap on his led where he put a large revolver in, called the Broken Butterfly.

And last but not least, Max had two holsters on his legs holding micro MP5's, and held in his hand a customized M4 with a scope and laser. Other packed nearly the same, except Joey held a Riot gun, with the Striker strapped to his back, and various second hand weapons on his belt, etc.

"Okay, so here's the deal. We need to provide cover fire for whoever is wiring the bombs." said Max.

"That would be me." said Leon.

"Right. Now, if we get visual conformation that the Smith Brothers are in the building, use your radios to tell us. It is important to know if they were here when we take the building down. Now, be prepared. There is going to be a shit-load of shooting going on."

"You've got to be shitting me! Uh… sorry. Bad joke…" Max rolled his eyes.

"Okay, stay low, and for gods sake, don't think. Shoot."

Leon and Joey grabbed the crate that held the explosives. The group exited the van.

Back at the V-Rock hotel, Claude and Tommy were watching TV. The fourteen-year-old Jack walked into the room.

"I… I just want to say I'm sorry dad. And I want to help you take down the shit-holes that killed mom." he said.

"You! Watch your mouth, damn it. No. I can't let get near a fight. I don't know what I would tell myself if anything happened to you?" said Claude.

"I'd better go." Tommy walked out of the room.

"But dad."

"Shut up. I'm sorry. I just, I can't. No, I'll handle the shooting, you are going to stay behind when the day comes."

"What are you going to do now?"

"Nothing we can do. We have to wait for an opportunity to attack. And when we do," Claude poked Jack, "you are going to stay behind."

Pierce was packing one of his favorites, one of the Kalashnikov series, and AK-101 assault rifle. Joey was fond of Shotguns, while Leon liked the super accurate and maneuverable handguns, preferably the Jericho 941 Duotone 9mm, a light accurate pistol.

The four held their firearms close as the neared the door. The sound of rustling weapons was music to Max's ears. "Okay, ready? I'll go in first." Max whispered.

Gripping his Customized M4, Max raised his weapon in the air. His arm came down smashing into the wooden door, breaking it open. The building had wood floors, wood walls, and was covered in large crates. Men littered the area.

Max rushed in, a Thug stood in front of him, looking in disbelief.

"Look-" A bullet entered his forehead, tearing him to the ground.

He turned to his left, taking down another thug with a head shot. "Go left!" Max ordered, taking down another thug that blocked the way. The bottom floor was basically a large open area littered with crates, similar to the warehouse.

The four stood safely behind a large brown crate with a tarp draped over it. "Okay, this is it, we need to plant the bombs in four places, each corner of the building, so-"

"Zere! Over zere! Get ze fuckers!"

"Damn it!"

A few thugs appeared, but were shot down rather quickly. "Move!" They entered the large area. Thugs were scattered everywhere, taking shots at Max and the others, who took cover behind another medium brown crate.

"Come on pussies!" Joey screamed, running into the open area, randomly blasting his sawn off shotguns, tearing apart the enemy. Pierce followed him, random thugs dropped from the accurate shots of Max and Pierce. They moved forward, the battleground partially cleared.

The group fired in all directions, completely annihilating the enemy. On the other side of the room were two staircases that were connected to each other, then lead up the building, completely visible. Upon the staircase were three men, and a stationary turret.

"Oh shit! Everybody down!" Max cried, the man taking aim. Max, Pierce, and Leon retreated behind the brown crate while Joey dove ahead, taking cover behind another. The ground turned into dust as bullets rained over the area.

"Hahahahahahahaha!" The man laughed, evilly.

"Fucker you're gonna pay!" Pierce shouted. Pierce began to rise, bullets whizzed past his head into the crates behind them, some bullets came so close he could feel them move through the air. "Shit!"

Joey continued towards the turret, he was undetected. He ditched the sawn offs and took out the Striker. He popped up but a few crates away from him and covered the area with lead. Three shots and he bounced back with the blow, covering the area in a light shower of blood. Joey continued upstairs.

"Joey! No!" Max yelled. "Crap! Pierce get the C4... NOW!" Max and Leon inspected the area, no sign of enemies. They went to work. Upstairs gunshots were heard. "Damn it, Joey."

They continued on planting the first C4 without any interferences. Joey had battled his way to floor three without any damage done to him. It was a game of dodge, cover, shoot, and it seemed to work very well for him. Bullets ran stray everywhere, covering the halls, walls, boxes and tables with bullet holes and dark red blood.

"Max! Shit! Max! Don't you know how to use a fucking gun! Give me some mother fucking cover fire!" Leon screamed.

"Shit! Shit!" Max fired at the newly arriving enemies. "Damn it! Pierce! Help!"

Pierce was blasting away at enemies coming down the stairs, while other entered from the front door. "Shit!" Bullets collided with crates and walls, inches from his body. Pierce through down his AK 101, taking out duo micro MP5's from his leg holsters. "GET DOWN MAX! AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" The MP5's shot out beams of light, covering the enemies with lead, bouncing off of crates and walls to the blood covered floor.

Max's M4 had jammed so he ditched it and took out his duo colt .45's and returned fire to the enemies towards the staircase. "Okay! Number three planted!" Leon yelled, grabbing his riot gun, helping with the defense.

"Over there!" Max pointed to one last corner. Keeping low, they shifted through the room, cautiously. "Okay it's clear, do it."

Leon went to the bomb, attaching it to a pillar, wiring a few C4's together. A minute passed and it was done. Leon grabbed his riot gun off the ground, "Okay, we're finished let's go. They headed for the door, pressing the timer, three minutes.

"Shit! We forgot Joey!" Max pointed out. "JOEY!"

"JOEY!"

"JOEY GET DOWN HERE!"

"Shit, get in the van." Max ordered.

Max cautiously made his way through the halls and offices, every two inches was a bullet hole, blood splatter and a body leaking blood. Stray guns covered the floor, Max rushed through dodging the bodies. He neared the stairs to floor three, gunshots heard. He rushed upstairs.

Joey threw down his Striker and shot with his two handguns, taking out men as fast as lightning with headshots. A man wear red dashed through, Joey pursued. Max came up behind him to an open area covered in bodies. "Crap." Joey just disappeared into an office.

1:03

Joey got his oversized revolver ready. He dashed through a few rooms, dodging chairs and tables and crates. When Joey got an opportunity, one shot in the thigh took out a good section of leg and brought the man down with a force. He rolled over, Joey above him. The man glanced into the barrel of Joey's revolver, then at Joey. "Nooo-way Jose!"

Blood splatter feet from his head which had a very large newly made hole in it.

"Shit! Here he comes!" someone shouted.

Joey jumped into the room, shooting two men in a diving motion, rolling to dodge gunfire. Two men remained. He shot the last on with a head shot, brains and blood covering a bookshelf, he took aim at the last French Thug.

"Okay! Okay! I give up, I-I surrender, man, pleaz don't shoot!"

"Say goodbye, Sean." said Joey, Max walked in behind him.

"Joey? What the fu-" His chest exploded and he flew backwards, bouncing off a blood splattered wall.

"Joey, we gotta go, come on!" Max pushed him towards the window.

"What? What? Max!" Joey protested.

"The bombs are about to got off! Now jump! Jump! Damn it! Jump!" Joey dove through the glass, coming down hard, he bounced off the roof of the van, landing on the ground. The door opened, "Get in! Get in Joey!"

Max did a summersault out the window, him too landing on the roof of the van, tumbling off it a few feet. "That's going to ach in the morning." He whispered. He scrambled to get up and hopped into the drivers seat. They started off, behind them the bottom floor exploded, sending wood, glass, and smoke plowing out into the street. The sky filled with grey billowy smoke. They had to wait for Kingpin to arrive.

"Welcome to the jungle baby." Joey joked.

**A/N: More Claude and Tommy, etc. in the next chapter.**


	21. One Chance

Within minutes the sun gave way, burning up the clouds, creating a blanket of heat bearing down upon San Fierro. San Andreas was left wet with the rain, creating slick roads and sidewalks, puddles of rain and mud. The sky became clear, engulfing the flames smoke higher and higher until it eventually evaporated hundreds of feet above the mess of a city San Fierro.

Sirens were let out, cops and fire trucks had already been alerted. So much for being subtle. With time running out, Kingpin was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he wasn't even in San Fierro at the time. It was a long shot, but the team had to stay put, in the off chance he might arrive. The sirens drew louder, closer, the four became uneasy. "Max," Leon leaned forward from back of the van, "they'll be after us, we weren't exactly stealth."

Max raised his hand, he gestured to wait, just a bit longer. Becoming inpatient, Max opened the driver door, leaning out, looking around, in the distance down the road, out towards Garver Bridge. With one hand on the opened door in front of him, Max knelt forward, looking in the side mirror.

A flash of yellow. A flash of red. Blood exploded out of Max's left arm, splattering over the open door, painting the window a blood red. He trembled to the ground, the pain seemed to stay with him until less than a moment later he saw the point sticking out, just below hi shoulder. Pierce automatically went on the offensive, bursting through the passenger door. The yellow sentinel flew by like a strike of lightning, the notorious Kingpin sitting in the driver seat, dressed in his traditional brown trench coat and hat, holding a crossbow in his right hand.

Pierce fired as fast as he could, managing to hit the car but a few times until it exceeded the pistols range. Just under Max's shoulder, his white collared shirt became soaked with blood, dripping along his arm. The bolt struck straight through him, still covered in blood, four and a half inches out, just below his chin. The pain stuck hard seconds after impact. In desperation he grabbed the bolt from the back end, his friends gasping at his actions. Max's scream was surreal, the bolt disappeared as he pulled it through his flesh, the point ripping through tissue and scraping along bone as he forced it out. Pierce hopped backed into the passengers seat as they still had time.

Blood poured out of Max like nothing had before, the smell of his warm blood filling the van as he hopped back into the drivers seat, tossing the bolt under him. He pushed on the pedal with all of his might, the van jolted out into the road, giving chase. The pain was intense. It started to ware off as Max got used to it, pain seemed to be something he was getting immune to.

Up ahead the yellow Sentinel turned around, heading towards Max on the opposite side of the street. He dodged a few cars, the yellow Sentinel passed him. The bloody window shattered as a blot flew through it, piercing into the drivers seat, missing Max's head by inches. He pulled the bolt out of the seats cushion and tossed it.

Max passed a red light, drifting into an intersection as he pushed a hard right, doing a U-turn. Going full speed the van nearly missed various cars, eventually catching up to the Sentinel as it took a turn left. Max crossed over the sidewalk dodging pedestrians, gaining speed. Within moments they were bumper to bumper, with shots exchanged between Pierce and a passenger in the backseat of the Sentinel.

Amazingly the van kept up with the Sentinel, which wasn't very logical, mainly because the yellow sentinel was definitely more maneuverable and had a higher max speed than the van did. Kingpin wasn't trying to escape, not if he was going that slow.

After a Various number of turns, Max found himself losing speed, gliding along next to the highway, heading south. He gave the van more gas and as if they were starting a roller coaster, everyone was pushed back into their seats. Two cars ahead, the Sentinel pushed left, it's tires screeching as it drifted the corner, heading into the airport entrance.

Max was right on his back again, driving through the open airport gates, gliding up and down the road smoothly. The chase began to get to even higher speeds, blurs of planes and baggage cars passed by within seconds as the two vehicles sped towards the runway. Located at the very beginning of the runway were two black vehicles, three men dotted around them, and the plane, and AT-300 which was a cargo plane designed to carry large amounts of cargo, tons, manly used for cars but could hall nearly anything. It looked very similar to the AT-400 passenger plane.

The speeds were in the eighties, nearing the plane too close, Max would loose control if he tried to dodge it. The yellow Sentinel Turned, skidding on it's right towards the plane. Two seconds more and they would hit the Sentinel. Max spun the wheel left with his good right arm, "JUMP!"

The van tipped over to it's right at sixty mph, Pierce jumped out of the passengers seat, Max dove out as well. Joey and Leon were tossed out the back, Max tumbled to the ground after the van threw him into the air as he dove out. The van left the ground, barley flying over Pierce as it did a mid-air roll, tumbling along the cement, tearing itself up.

By this time, Max's pain had subsided, his left arm completely red, opposite of his pearl white collar shirt. He lifted himself off the ground with his good arm. Before seconds passed, he saw the trench coat board the plane. He went for his LX-34 in his holster under his left arm, soaked in blood. The cargo door to the plane was still open, three guards heading to close it. Five shots, five impacts, they all fell to the ground.

The plane began to move, the cargo door still open, it slowly and loudly scraped across the ground sending bright, broad sparks hurdling into the air three feet up. There was no choice. Max dove into the drivers seat of the Sentinel, he punched the pedal with his foot. His group stood behind him, dumbstruck. The Sentinel burned out, using all of its hp.

The plane and the Sentinel both gained speed, the Sentinel's yellow paint job gleaming brightly in the sunlight. The world around him seemed to turn into a painting of blurry, mixed up colors, but the Plane ahead of him stayed clear in his vision. He drove with his injured arm, his LX-34 in his right hand. A panel on the right wall was the cargo door opener, he had to protect it.

A man turned visible on the plane, heading towards the panel. Max shot through the blinding wall of sparks. He neared the plane, a few feet away. About to drive up the ramp, Max's left arm froze. His heart pounded, shocks of pain ran through his arm and chest, causing him to have a hard time breathing. Almost loosing control, he dropped his LX and drove with his right hand.

His arm burnt with an intensity like nothing before Max had endured, as if it was frozen solid, so cold it burned. Zaps of a sharp pain ran ramped through his chest, but he kept going. The car jolted as hi boarded the ramp, the plane nearing the end of the runway. The airport below them suddenly got lower, the Sentinel lost it's power and rolled back. He grabbed his LX and jumped out the drivers seat, rolling onto the ramp.

He watched as the yellow Sentinel rolled off the ramp, Max held onto a bar that connect to the door, which operated it. He caught his breathe and watched below, as the Sentinel got smaller and smaller, until it bounced off the ground, pieces of it shot in every direction.

Shortly after, he caught his breath; still enduring the pain. Max went for a bottle in his pants pocket. He dumped a few pills into his mouth. After a few minutes, the pain lessened. Cautiously looking over the edge, the plane passed over water and desert, various roads spread out below in the outback, with tiny cars driving along them. San Fierro was still just barley visible, shaded out by a light blue color. They passed over a landing strip in the desert, obviously heading towards Venturas. Max took his cell, dialing a few numbers "Pierce?"

"Max?"

"Get to the Las Venturas airport ASAP, I am going to trail them wherever they go, we'll be landing soon."

"Okay Max, but-"

"No questions god damn it. Get the hell over here… I'll keep in touch."

In the next few minutes Max walked around the cargo area, no sign of life. Half way into the plane was a wall separating the cargo area from the seating area. The door was locked, and Max didn't need to be discovered, he would need to lay low. The plane shot out north of Venturas, then swung around, heading towards the airport. It was time.

Back at the V-Rock hotel, "Jack, get you goddamn homework done." Claude firmly ordered.

The door burst open, "Tommy! Tommy! Tommy, here!" The overzealous Ken spoke, more antsy than normal.

"What? What is it?" Tommy stood up from his meal, in his jeans and Hawaiian shirt.

"I just-I just was listening in, Toni, Toni, he's, on, he is-"

"Speak up!"

"He's laughing-landing at Las Venturas airport, with others. This-this could be our chance, Tommy."

Tommy turned to Claude, "Get you stuff, it's show time." Claude immediately went for a weapon. "Phil! Mario! It's time!" The two came out of a dark bedroom, "Yes!" Phil spoke. "My arm is ready to do some killing!"

"Dad! Dad! What are you doing?" Jack inquired.

"I'm going to get revenge, son."

"Cool! Can I come? Dad? Please."

Claude pointed at Jack, ordering, "No, you stay here, I can't let anything happen to you. I would never forgive myself if something did."

Together, Tommy, Claude, Phil, Mario, and Ken loaded up an arsenal of weapons into the two rented vehicles. They were ready for all out war. The car started, Tommy and Claude were the drivers of the two cars, which made there way towards the Las Venturas Airport.

Up with the pilot, Toni, Connor and Kingpin were sitting. The plane silently glided towards Las Venturas, slowly descending. Out of the silence Connor spoke, "So, Nicoletti has the gold, right?"

"Yeah," Toni answered, "but it's a bummer King didn't get to take his car, that is why we took this large piece of junk plane, anyway. That's why we have to take a goddamn detour." Toni laughed.

"Yeah that sucks." Kingpin spoke in a deep, evil voice. "Oh well, it doesn't matter. In time, we will be rich, and rid of those cockroaches, pieces of shit cops. And then I can buy and mod five Sentinel's if I want to."

"Yeah King, we're unstoppable now," said Toni, "what about Joey?"

"That bitch killed my employees. Fuck him too, chop the fuckers head off, along with that bitch Payne."

"We'll be landing soon." the pilot announced.

The plane slowly lowered itself, lowering it's wheels it glided down the runway to a complete stop. The exited the plane into an orange Kuruma. Max had to follow it.

Just getting off the Garver Bridge, Pierce, Leon and Joey got a call, "This is Max, where you at?"

"Garver Bridge." Pierce replied.

"Okay, I'm following them out of town, north."

"Gotcha." Pierce hung up. They were driven a car they stole out of the parking lot, a black Nebula. The car powerfully drove down onto the highway, fast and easily controlled. They would be getting another call from Max, for now they had to head north. Pierce took the first left he cam upon, a few meters from the bridge.


	22. Only Time Will Tell

The room was quiet, dark, silent. A small beam of blue colored light was illuminated through the blinds early this rainy morning. Greg kept his eye out the window, his body shaking.

Gabe walked up behind them, "Greg," he whispered, "I got you on a flight to San Fierro."

"What?" he responded, worry in his voice, "Where will I stay? I don't know anybody there." Gabe shuffled around in his pockets and pulled out an abnormal amount of cash. He grabbed Greg's hand and put the cash upon his palm.

"It's from me and CJ. A little over eight grand, I'll keep in touch man."

"What if-that, that cop still follows me?"

"He won't, look in the closet for a new set of clothes, your plane doesn't leave until one o'clock. That gives you four hours to get haircut, supplies, and maybe some food. Take my old Vincent, parked around the side the house, kay?"

And just like that, Greg was gone.

Bone County, San Andreas's wasteland. The remote desert where random bodies and bones can be found spread out amongst the deserts canyons and sand dunes. Today, the sand was dark, still damp with rain, like mud but still till hot with the heat from the intensifying midday sun. Heat could be seen rising off in the distance.

Four cars, four sets of people, all heading to the same place. Pierce, the driver of the Nebula, was speeding along the empty desert roads. He had the car doing eighty-ninety mph along the straight, slightly curved roads. He cautiously watched passing signs, buildings, the environment, and just as he expected, a cop was posted along one of the roads. As they passed the car speeding, they expected him to give chase. No chase was given, the cop was dead, murdered with a firearm, just another corrupt bastard who got what he deserved.

The orange Kuruma smoothly headed out of Venturas, slowly passing by various vehicles and pedestrians. Keeping low Max stayed four cars back at all times, in the grey Sentinel that was also loaded up into the AT-300 cargo plane. The traffic was unreal to this time of day, they slowly made their way north in Venturas along the Julius Thru Way West, towards Pilson Intersection where they took a right onto the ramp, gliding over a building below, heading into the heat-struck desert in which no clouds were protecting it from the sun.

A single zap of pan spread through Max's upper body, originating from the puncture wound. He gasped, grabbing his injured shoulder. He felt drowsy. What was this doing to him? He popped a few more pills in his mouth, and by the time they crossed over the train tracks, the pain was almost gone. His bones ached, the wound stinging. But he had to go on, he had to survive, at least another hour to get the job done. Can he last that long? Only time will tell.

One car ahead of Max, the unsuspecting group of Liberty Mercenaries, Tommy, Claude, Phil, Mario, and Ken, sped along the worsening roads, keeping sight on the orange Kuruma, which they had seen Toni get in before they dispatched from the airport. Behind the drivers seat in Tommy's car, Phil was examining one of the Russian Kalashnikov rifles they had. Tommy glanced in the rear view mirror.

"For Christ's sake Phil, quit waving that thing around." He moved the mirror over a bit. He caught himself glancing into a grey Sentinels driver seat, someone with a bloody left arm driving alone, his face blackened out by shadows. Suspicious. But nothing to worry about at the moment.

The roads became bumpy, making the ride un-enjoyable. Across one bump someone cried, "Ouch!" Claude looked around, only Mario and Ken in his car, they both didn't scream, suspicious. Then Claude spotted a bloody driver alone in a grey Sentinel, wearing a bloody white shirt, and a torn up black tie. Also suspicious.

Two minutes later the three cars tailing the Kuruma were above a cliff, an aircraft graveyard below. The Kuruma took a dirt road down towards an abandoned building. The three followers waited before they continued down the path, and with that action, Claude and Tommy knew that the bloody driver of the grey Sentinel was following Toni.

Max realized that the two cars were also following Connor, so he took a different route, driving south along a road, instead of continuing along a dirt road directly towards the graveyard, endangering himself.

Max grabbed his phone.

The Nebula picked up speed, heading north.

"Hello?"

"Pierce,"

"Max."

"They are heading to an abandoned airstrip, just north of Area 69."

"Okay Max, I'm on my way. Don't do anything stupid now."

The car sped past the twenty year old Octane Springs oil drills. Taking a left at an old motel, the empty road would lead them right past Area 69 and directly to the abandoned airstrip, where the expected conflict would happen.

At the airstrip itself, Max had parked along the southern end, keeping behind a beat up pile of plane parts, here he waited for Pierce to arrive, keeping an eye on the situation.

At the end of the sandy strip near the hanger and control room, three black Huntley SUV's were parked, along with the Kuruma. Mafia soldiers dressed in black accounted for the vehicles, 12 of them, plus Toni, Connor, Kingpin, and Stephen.

Max watched curiously as the soldiers opened the back of a Huntley, unloading a large truck. They opened it to show Connor it's contents. Max couldn't tell what it was.

"Damn it Pierce, hurry up." He whispered to himself.

Tommy had stationed his men in strategic locations among the brush and behind the small hangers opposite of Max. They would be ready to attack on queue.

Still watching, Max clenched his injury. The bleeding stopped but the pain persisted, something was wrong. Still feeling drowsy, he took a breath. _Stupid bolt. Don't be weak Max. You can do this._

A minute or two later, there still was no sign of Pierce. The deal was almost over. "No." Max whispered yet again. _Who were those guys following Connor? Will they attack?_

As if on queue, Max spotted a one armed man upon a small hanger across the strip, with a large weapon in hand. A beam of light erected from the barrel of his weapon. One of the mafias soldiers heads practically burst, throwing blood and brain into the air, splattering amongst a two meter radius. As if time stopped, the shot echoed in the silent air. The man finally fell to the ground, his blood leaking out of a newly made hole in his forehead.

With one single shot, it started a war. From here shot rang out of all types, shotgun, submachine gun, machine gun, sniper, grenades, etc. The shots were in a pattern, returning fire after every set of shots between two sides. _Where the hell is Pierce?_


	23. Showdown In the Desert

A team of sixteen Mafia stood over the damp, mud like sand in the hot sun. Connor stood next to Nicoletti, who was inspecting the contents in the trunk of one of the Huntleys, crates and boxes stuffed the SUV.

Nicoletti spoke out of the side of his mouth, "This is good, the V here too?"

An older man with grey hair laughed, "You kidding? Of course, I just showed you some of it."

"Good, good… I expect, that we are being spied on, Mr. Vince." Nicoletti glanced towards the plane wreckage.

"Then let them spy, we'll deal with them soon enough."

Tommy stood holding an AK, leaning out from behind a hanger spying on the group of Mafia. After a few minutes Tommy retreated back to Phil, who was lying upon the roof of the hanger.

"Phil! Phil!" Tommy whispered.

"W-what?"

"Get a good aim at one of them, fire when I tell you. Try to take out Connor."

"Sorry Tommy, I can't see him."  
"Then, go for anybody."

Phil shifted the PSG-1, getting a good aim at an older man, standing in front of Nicoletti, like a human shield. His head was right in Phil's crosshairs, he kept the gun steady with his one arm. "Tommy. Tommy, I have aim."

"Not yet."

Phil got anxious. Getting trigger happy was a problem he had. He cracked under the pressure of patience.

"So," spoke the old man, "When will Padrino be here?"

Nicoletti answered, "In a few minutes, we are going to load up a few of this, 'equipment' and head out to vice on some, personal business." The old man nodded. At that instant, his forehead exploded and a bullet passed through him like he was a piece of paper. Blood splatter upon a few Mafia, including Connor and Nicoletti.

Every Mafia in the area pulled out an automatic weapon out of their jackets and returned fire. Various gunmen appeared around the hangers including Tommy, Mario, Ken, Claude, and Phil.

Acting upon impulse, Nicoletti ducked behind the Huntley, not as a coward, but to fight back. Connor helped him unload heavy artillery, and prepared to return fire.

Max stood up against the large pile of wreckage, ducking to avoid any stray bullets which seemed to head his way. He had a slightly bloody LX-34 he grasped with his both hands, peeking around the corner to see what was going down. To his un-surprise, it was all out war. A few gunmen were using cover to take out the Mafia who's only cover were a few Huntleys. A Mafia soldier seemed to drop every ten or so seconds.

Two leaders, from which Max could see, were wrestling with a large weapon, which he later spotted to be a Arabic style rocket launcher. From the ground position, the rocket took off, heading along slightly rigid path towards the nearest hanger. The one-armed man had no escape, in less than one second there was contact. As he tried to avoid the rocket by jumping off the hanger, he got caught in the explosion. His burnt up body bounced or the walls of two hangers until finally coming to rest on a pile of rubble.

The rocket exploded like a firework, flames disintegrating into a light wall of smoke, pieces of the hanger roof shot in every direction, along with Phil's body. By this time only a few Mafia were dead, others running around to take cover and one was heading towards Max.

Pierce awoke from a short slumber with a slight headache, gunshots ringing in the background. He face was pressed up against hot metal. He sat up and glanced around, realizing he was on a bent up hood of a car, covered in glass and minor cuts and scrapes. The car had collided with an un-budged telephone pole. The car was totaled, the engine jammed into the pole, smoke arising from it. He was among a desert road, dark sand spread out in all directions covered in bushes and cactus, slight sandy hills to the east. He examined the old road he spotted skid marks, and a crashed black Huntley a few meters off road. Pierce exited the vehicle and walked towards the Huntley, examining it.

The cars must have collided at high speeds, slight debris was on the road. The Huntley was also totaled, flipped over on it side amongst a path of bent bushes, disturbed sand, and broken cactus. A Mafia soldier was crushed beneath the SUV, his head, upper chest, and arm visible over blood colored sand.

"Max." Pierce sprinted back to the car, waking up Joey and Leon, who were also unconscious. The three gathered up any excess weaponry the could and headed towards the sound of the gunfire, about a mile up the road.

Eventually the damned airstrip came into sight. Pierce, Leon, and Joey were fatigued and wet with perspiration, not a single car passed them on the road. Although being late, the war was amazingly still raging on, no on was really hitting anybody, the pot shots seemed to be just dotting the landscape with lead. A few bodies were lying around, but only a few.

Max was discovered, and now taking fire, not heavy fire, but fire. Anytime Max could get a few shots off was good, because that opportunity came rarely.

It wasn't long when Nicoletti, Toni, and Connor sighted Joey, Leon, and Pierce heading in from the south. One of the Huntleys caught fire and the mafia near it were forced out of that area of cover.

Tommy's men were still all alive except fro Phil, who got terminated in the rocket launcher attack, but they were still holding up good with lots of surplus ammo, keeping on the assault. It was time to move in and get a bit closer.

They used a tactical attack strategy, heading towards the nearest area that provided cover while the others provide cover fire from a secure location. The first area of cover in this case were some barrels, just in front of the flying school building. It wasn't long until the gunfire became overwhelming, and Mario, Tommy's right hand man, was shot a few time in the chest on his way towards Tommy behind the barrels. His blue Hawaiian shirt and white pants became blood stained as the bullets punctured his chest in many of areas, he tumbled down to earth, to his death.

A second lost only enraged Tommy in this war, motivating him to do better. Claude was a silent assassin in the mix. His super accurate shots with a customized, scoped-M4 were only good from a sniping position, he stayed stationed at the hanger that suffered the rocket launcher attack.

It wasn't long before the Mafia's numbers were depleting, the wet airstrip becoming dotted with more bodies and blood every minute. Just when the two teams thought they had the upper hand on the Mafia, a few Black Huntleys came speeding over the landscape, men filtered out like a flood, twelve more Mafia in the mix, this time mostly wielding M4's, MP5 A5's, and Desert Eagles. Stephen, Connors right hand man was amongst this new group. Not only did they have the upper hand again, but Toni, Nicoletti, Kingpin, and Connor were all alive still, and could escape in one of the Huntleys. Max had foresaw this, but so did Tommy, who ordered Claude to snipe out the engines of the Huntleys, rendering them useless.

Nicoletti was on the ground, keeping low and shooting every chance he got. With one shot of his new M4, the bullet zoomed through the air, hitting the weak Ken Rosenberg in the eye. As blood dipped down his face, the pain came overwhelming form Ken, who had never been shot before in his life. He covered his face up with his hands, and more bullets came zooming into his chest, knocking him to the ground in a bloody haze. Ken was dead in that instant.

Nicoletti stood up to celebrate his kill, when Max, with his LX-34 took aim. The bullet hit Nicoletti where Max had been shot with the crossbow. Nicoletti fell to the ground after his arm exploded in blood, he cursed as he fell.

Kingpin was the assassin his name lived him up to be, he had not shot a single person so far. Toni was dumbfounded, all of the shots his side shot were missing, it was like Tommy was invincible. His growing anger made him proceed him to attack with two Mini-Uzi's. The attack was short lived as Pierce made his way unspotted towards the Mafia, taking down Toni with the Kalashnikov. The fat man fell down hard. A smile drew across Pierce's face.

A smile was not the right reaction, as this brought a lot of attention on him, a rain of bullets came down upon his area. Joey and Max were virtually out of the fight when this happened, giving them a rare golden opportunity to take out some Mafia with ease.

Claude decided to make a fatal mistake that he would regret. Kingpin was hazard with his newly acquired Scoped M4, just like Claude had. Through his scope Tommy wasn't visible, but Claude came around the hanger, this was his chance.

The first two bullets missed, Claude looked around for one second, in that second he stood still, the chaos temporarily stopped, time froze. He bounced back as three bullets tore through his leather jacket, shooting streaks of blood out. Kingpin emptied the remainder of his clip into Claude, twelve bullets.

After the shots ended, Claude slid down the side of the hanger wall, his face pale without and expression. The wall was left blood stained, Tommy turned to look at Claude's body. He screamed.

Taking a huge risk, Tommy dashed over to Claude, bullets ran ramped in his direction. His last living partner in this war was shot, Tommy carried Claude's body back into the hanger.

The Mafia were again loosing men fast. Nicoletti, this fierce force, was shot down by both Max and Pierce. Max and Pierce were behind one of the Mafia's Huntleys, Joey was nowhere to be seen. The duo took down three more Mafia in a quick jump and shoot, including Stephen, Connors right hand Max.

The Huntley they stood behind became covered in bullet holes, Max sighted the remainder of the Mafia: Connor, Kingpin, and four Mafia soldiers.

Connor stood with a grenade, ready to throw. His ears exploded with a shot from Tommy before he took the pin out, who was screaming and cursing while shooting, taking down the remaining four Mafia soldiers, while they too returned fire. The rain of bullets brought Tommy down along with them, in an explosive end.

Now it was just Kingpin, Max, and Pierce, and Joey, wherever the hell he went.

Max and Pierce crouched behind a Huntley, Max with his LX, and Pierce with his Kalashnikov. They whispered, "Pierce, let's take him down from two sides," Max pointed, "You got that way,"

Pierce made an 'okay' sign with his hand and they were off. The search ended soon, as the unsuspecting Max was ambushed by King. Around the corner of a Huntley, King give Max a furious punch to the gut, before Max could raise his weapon, King shot his hand, Max dropped the LX-34. "Pierce!" Max managed to let out.

The daunting figure stood broadly above Max. Kingpin threw down his automatic weapon and grabbed Max's LX-34. He let out a laugh and said, "Remember me, Max?"

Max's eyes widened as he raised the weapon, shooting Max three times in the chest, making his white shirt even more bloody. Max fell to his knees. The pain shot through his body, even worse than before. Max felt drowsy again, and sweaty. The task of breathing had become harder than before. Amazingly, Max's will kept him alive and on his knees. With his injured hand Max took out a bottle of pills, Kingpin shot the bottle out of his hand as well, destroying the pills and splattering blood amongst the sand. AT this point, nothing really hurt Max. His body became numb.

"Freeze!" Kingpin turned to his left, Pierce stood with his hands cupped around a revolver he found on the ground next to a body. "Drop you weapon." Pierce ordered.

King laughed manically.

"I said drop you goddamn weapon!" Pierce glanced down at the injured Max. "Say goodbye, Kingpin." He readied himself to shoot, Kingpin not even raising Max's weapon to fight back.

With what little power Max had left, he raised his left hand, forcing out a few words, "No."

Pierce eyes shot towards Max. _What did he say?_

"No, Pierce." Blood poured out of Max's mouth. "That's-ah! Not, K-king, Kingpin."

Pierces mouth dropped, in the dead silence he could head his heartbeat. "What the hell?"

Max stood on his knees barley conscious, to see what unfolded next.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha." Kingpin laughed again.

"That's not King," said Max, "t-that's-"

"Who?" Pierce spoke.

"Come on, Pierce," Kingpin spoke in a smooth, familiar voice, "are you that incompetent?" he laughed once more. "Would you really,"

**A/N: All you readers out there, reviews rock, just so you know... just telling you, in case you didn't know. mmm hmmm, it's true**


	24. We Were Brothers

Leon opened his eyes and found that he was face down on the ground, his face pushed into cold wet sand. _What happened? _He wondered. As he tried to get up he felt a pain in his stomach. He reached down and held the injury, realizing it was covered in warm, sticky, wet blood. He had been shot.

Leon glanced up, Joey was standing straight up with a very large revolver in his hand, pointing the gun in the opposite direction. His mouth was moving, he was talking, but Leon wasn't hearing anything. He tried to make out the words but couldn't. Realizing the situation, Leon grabbed the small revolver at his side, adrenalin running through his body. Anger.

About to jump up, he was forced to stay down by an enormously intense pain at the back of his head. Joey's weapon fired, no sound. Feeling like a chain was around his neck, chocking him, not allowing him to breathe, Leon lost consciousness, he drifted back into dreamland.

"No, Pierce." Blood poured out of Max's mouth. "That's-ah! Not, K-king, Kingpin."

Pierces mouth dropped, in the dead silence he could head his heartbeat. "What the hell?"

Max stood on his knees barley conscious, to see what unfolded next.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha." Kingpin laughed again.

"That's not King," said Max, "t-that's-"

"Who?" Pierce spoke.

"Come on, Pierce," Kingpin spoke in a smooth, familiar voice, "are you that incompetent?" he laughed once more. "Would you really, point a gun, at your own brother?"

With one large heartbeat, Pierce lowered his weapon, he was shell shocked.

Kingpin took off his hat, throwing it on the ground, revealing his long blond hair and dark glasses. Off the glasses went, as well as the wig, revealing shorter brownish-black hair. He laughed again, he was amused at this situation. He had the upper hand.

Max was still managing to stay up on his knees, despite the numbing and the drowsiness, almost loosing consciousness many times.

"Impossible!" Pierce shouted, pointing at Phil. "You! You died!"

"What brother? You think I am that easily killed? Ha! You are rather incompetent." Spoke the old SVPD Sergeant.

"Why? Why Phil, why? Why the hell are you doing this?"

"P-Pierce, he's, he's corrupted." said Max.

"I'm not corrupted, I'm seeing clearly."

"What happened to you Phil?" Pierce continued, "What-why. I don't understand. If it wasn't you in that car, who was it?"

"Ha-ha. That was a man, willing to give his life, for the better of mine."

"What were your intensions?" Pierce was raising his voice.

"What happened to the real Kingpin?" Max joined in.

"Okay, I'll explain, seeing as you are both about to die, haha." he began, "I started co-operating with the Mafia, one of their… 'people' got in touch with me, and from there I started seeing clearly."

"What?"

"Let me continue, brother. Ha. So they hired Kingpin to supposedly, kill Joey, and he failed the first time, so we killed Kingpin, and I well, uh. Took his identity, some to speak. Then we dealt with the whole Joey thing, and got in a little over our heads back in Liberty, made the mistake of taking on Claude and Tommy. We meant to only lead you two to Venturas, so you would be outnumbered. It's a shame really that those Liberty thugs, got into out business, as you can see, Nicoletti and Connor, as well as Toni are all dead now, which wouldn't have happened, had we only been fighting you. The Mafia are probably finished, or maybe not. There is still an available leader, willing to take the job."

Max's drowsy eyes widened, "WHAT?"

"No, Max, that's not your business, or mine either."

"You're crazy Phil." Pierce accused.

"No, I am not, you see. Instead of staying at my piss-poor job as a sergeant, being treated with disrespect by everyone in the station, not having any friends or family-"

"I'm family."

"Fuck you. You didn't care one bit!"

"That's a lie!"

"Oh really? After I 'supposedly' died, were you there to mourn my loss? No! Did you even get on the damn case? No! You didn't do shit."

"I was busy." Pierce fought back.

"Family first jackass." Phil was getting loud, angered.

"What about mom and dad?"

"They're dead, the dead don't matter. They were all I had, they helped me out, what was I supposed to do now? I did what I had to do, that's what."

"Then why did you turn to the Mafia?"

"Because they had everything, my life would be superior to yours, as a matter of a fact, it is."

"Your wrong, what's so great about betraying you brother, who all he ever did was love you?"

"You didn't love me."

"Damn it, Phil. I DID! I do, or well, I used to."

"Oh well, it doesn't matter. After this, you'll be dead and I'll be in power. I'll have my own front, my own huge apartment. And I'll be making money every second of my life. Since you killed Toni, well, I have no one to share it with, leaving it all to me."

"So what? You supplying the Mafia or something?"

"In the Mafia, in Chicago. I will be one of the highest ranking leaders the mafia will ever see. I will control their money, and weapons, and in return, I get security, a nice place to live, and power. I can kill every one of those bastards at SVPD who treated me like shit, starting with that whore Jennifer. As a matter of fact! I can kill anyone and get away with it!"

"I don't know you anymore. You've been corrupted, by greed and being power-hungry."

Phil raised the LX-34, "At least I'm not a poor son of a bitch." Before Pierce could react, the Kalashnikov was shot out of his hands, Pierce almost lost his balance. Holding his bloody hand he looked up at Phil.

_The damn LX-34 holds 18 bullets in one clip. Damn it. _Max thought, watching two brother stare down each other evilly.

"Phil. We were brothers."

"Not any more. You've missed your last chance. You'll regret that forever." Phil aimed and shot, five bullets punctured his chest, Pierce was still standing. His chest turned blood red, soaking the fabric. He fell to the ground, laying on his side, next to his Kalashnikov.

Phil swung his arm to Max, standing three feet in front of him. Max stared down the barrel and closed his eyes. The gunshot rang into the air. Max's heart jumped, expecting to be face down on the sand in a puddle of blood, dead. He forced his eyes open and saw that he was covered in blood splatter, Phil's chest was wide open, a large red gaping hole, just like the past.

He dropped the LX-34 and wiped the wound, turning his hand red with blood. Slowly realizing it, he lost his balance. "Son of a bitch." He fell, bouncing off the ground. A puddle of blood appeared under him.

After he fell, Joey was in view, holding a very large revolver in one hand. He aimed at Max. Max was shocked.

"Sorry Max, but this has to be done." he said.

Max closed his eyes again, expecting to die. Seven or so shots were fired, Max opened his eyes to see Joey covered in red, falling to the ground in a crimson shower.

To his left, Pierce stood on his knee, using every last ounce of his strength, his life, to save Max. Phil fell face first into the ground, his Kalashnikov still in his hands. Pierce was dead.

'The final gunshot was an exclamation mark to everything that had lead to this point. And then it was over.'

Max fell to the ground, unconscious.

Minutes later a young kid was walking around the blood covered battlefield, picking up all the weapons he could carry, tears in his eyes after seeing his father's lifeless body. The image would haunt him forever. He stumbled over Max's body. Max opened his eyes, a kid staring at him.

"Who are-" Max spoke. The kid raised a desert eagle to his face, ready to pull the trigger. Max moved and a bullet shot into the ground. Acting upon impulse he took the gun from the child and aimed it at his head, he pulled the trigger.

He ended up staring at a fourteen-year-olds body. "What have I done?" He brought himself to his knees. Taking the badge off of his neck he tossed it into the dirt. Max stumbled very slowly towards his car, leaving a large blood trail upon the now dry sand in the ninety degree heat. He still did not know how he was staying alive, but at the time, it didn't matter. All that mattered was that he was alive, they were dead, and he needed a doctor. He drove away from the cursed valley of death, looking for someone who wasn't going to go to the cops to fix him up. It was a long shot.

At that instant, Tommy Vercetti opened his eyes, leaning up. He must have been shot eleven times. His Hawaiian shirt riddle with tears in the fabric. He lifted up his shirt and pulled his vest off, revealing intensely colored purple and red chest. He had been shot by mostly weaker weapons. It ached with such an intensity that it made him slow. He stumble among the many dead bodies, the red painted sand. Looking around, there were no cars in sight. It was as if god had deserted the area in order for this tragedy to take place. It was a valley of death.

Amongst the bodies, Tommy spotted Jack, he must have been hiding in the trunk of the car, he wanted to see the action. Damn foolish kid. And innocent child died. Next to his body was a badge. Tommy examined it. That cop. Max Payne.

Tommy walked away from the battlefield. Cops were bound to arrive someday, they would be searching for Max, and Tommy as well. Time to lay low and get out.

Leon finally gathered the strength to stand up. There was no sign of Max, Pierce was dead. Along with Joey. Joey was betraying them from the beginning. The Mafia got a hold of him. It was all an elaborate plan to take out a few cops that were fishing around. It had gone terribly wrong.

A blue car drove off, Max's car was gone. Leon hotwired a car that was parked behind a hanger, the trunk was open. He closed in and got in. It was hard to drive with his head aching at the intensity that it was. He needed to find answers. To find out what exactly happened. For now, he had to find Max.

Tommy lost a lot of friends that day. He swore to Claude that he would find Jacks killer, he made it his mission. His mission to kill, Max Payne.

Words can only describe what happened that day. The battlefield was horrible to look at. The soldiers blood would keep the sand red for a long time.

Padrino flew towards the airstrip, he spotted the bodies as soon as he landed. He stood over his bosses body, Nicoletti Cruz. He was now the new leader of the Las Venturas Mafia. A huge step for him.

**A/N: From now on, the chapters will be told in first peron by the survivors. More to come, thanks for reading!**


	25. Paybacks a Bitch

The grey Sentinel zoomed along the desert road at ninety miles per hour, heading towards the city of Las Venturas. Driving like a drunk, Max could barley keep his eyes open, but he couldn't close them due to the incredible pain factor. I wasn't soon before he lost control of the car, swerved off road and tumbled a ten or so feet into the desert, only one mile from Las Venturas.

Max opened his eyes to see the light blue hospital walls, the scent of medicine in the air. He gagged. The fucking smell he hated. The room was simple, a brown door, a bed, a metal stand with food and pills on it next to the bed, the IV, and a small square window opposite the door. Max studied the room, and then himself, feeling the bandages around his chest, examining the IV's in his arm. The taste of blood in his mouth had gone away, not that he wasn't used to it. His bones ached, and his body was covered in dark purple bruises. His mind drifted off, but he came back to his senses after a few minutes. He started thinking. The police were obviously downstairs, waiting for him to become conscious, they would arrest him and question him, but how many days had gone past? Did they find the blood stained badge? If they did than his guess was reality, if not he might be able to flee without being discovered. The room had no sign of the date or time.

He had no chances to take staying there and doing nothing about it. He ripped the IV's out of his arm without screaming. With no time to loose, he rushed around the room, taking a bottle of water and a few pills from the metal end table. He put on his hospital robe and approached the window. There was daylight, Las Venturas was awake and booming, endless cars passed by below, endless people passing by, all with their own problems just like Max had his.

He was loosing focus. He popped a pain pill in his mouth. Footsteps outside the door, no time to loose. It was a two story drop to a grassy area surrounded by brush. Out the window he went, landing was a cause to send pain through his whole body, reawakening old wounds. It felt almost like his legs would snap. The parking lot was on the other side of the complex, he stuck to the exterior wall making his way to the front. Passing by the front entrance an officer was staring out the window, looking outside probably waiting for Max to wake up. It was too late, before Max realized the cop was there he had been spotted. The chase was on, Max disappeared into the overcrowded parking lot searching for a car to steal. He was becoming the very thing he swore to protect people against.

He lost count of days sitting in his dark apartment in Liberty. Loosing friends, getting betrayed, killing an innocent kid, nearly dying over and over. It was too much. He couldn't think straight. Paranoia had corrupted him, for now. It caused him to spend most of his days sleeping, not leaving his apartment and eating TV dinners, watching phony reality shows like 'Liberty City Survivor'. The only weapon he had left (which he always kept by his side) was an old .45 hand pistol. The days continued to pass until one late afternoon, a yellow light making the apartment and Max himself glow, was when there was a knock at his door.

He took the .45, aiming it at the door as he slowly opened it. He was ready to kill the bastard at his door.

"Max! Don't shoot!" the man spoke. He was wearing a brown leather jacket and dark blue acid washed jeans. Long blonde hair.

A name came to Max's mind. "Pierce?" He had the weapon was still aiming at the man.

"What the fuck?" he sort of shrugged, "It's me, Max. Leon."

"Shit."

They sat down in the living room. "Max what's going on? What happened to you? Look at this place?"

Max glared around at the trash on the floor, the holes in the wall, the dark purple bruises on his fists.

"I feel like, I've lost everything. I don't even know how. What the fuck happened, Pierce?"

"Leon."

"Oh, sorry."

"Max."

Moments passed. Max shrugged. "What?"

"I, I-uh. I think I can tell you about what happened."

'What happened." He stared into his eyes. "What happened?"

"I was, at the hospital waiting for you to wake up, when I think I put the pieces together. How they pulled it off. That is, until recently."

Max picked up the soda can from the coffee table. He took a drink, then urged Leon to continue.

"Th-this Joey situation." Max made an angry face, he was pissed at Joey still. "I think he really was against the Jack Crime Family Organization. I think, that he, uh, was 'persuaded' by this Kingpin fellow, he almost got assassinated. Kingpin tried to kill Joey, but he failed, and for that he got whacked by the JCF. Phil Jefferson, by this time, was supposedly 'killed,' and uh, was working with the JCF because of his greed problem, being brainwashed by the JCF and their, irresistible offer. At this time, he had no way to fight, or he would be discovered alive, not dead, thereby blowing his cover. Like I said, Kingpin failed his mission, it was probably Connor who came up with the brilliant idea to eliminate Kingpin, so Phil could take his place, his disguise. They got to Joey, threatened him, they knew he was working with you and Pierce, you two would never go away. Joey endured his pain, to make his story look real, Phil _did _shoot him at the park, but not bad enough to kill him. It was a sacrifice he had to make, a little pain to survive. Joey was with you all the time, so the JCF always knew where you were, what you were planning. They probably even set up fake deals, like in the warehouse Venturas. It was all elaborately planned.

"Don't you see Max? The desert err-uh, war, thing, was supposed to be an ambush for you." His voice raised. "They let you survive to get on the plane, and lead us to this, set up, at Verdant Meadows. But they did fuck up, the tried to handle too many things at one time. They made enemies, with this Tommy Vercetti and Claude. Even worse was that these two dudes were attacked at the same time, so they made an alliance and attacked the JCF as they were going to ambush us, they made a fatal mistake, which lead to their demise."

"Your wrong."

"I am not!"

"No, I mean, the JCF aren't over. They still have Nicolettis right hand man, they have to. The JCF will retreat to their allies in Venturas. And if I know how the mob works, I will have a bounty on my head. Shit! I'm fucked!"

"No, Max."

"Yes! Yes I am, you see. I-I, ugh! You don't even understand. I KILLED A KID!" Max arose from his seat, using violent hand jesters as he continued talking, pointing at the window, at Liberty City.

"Was it self defense?"

"It doesn't matter! The jury is gonna. They don't. AHH! Okay, the jury is going to take in consideration the events that have happened in the past month or two. There is no fucking was that I will be okay. Even if I say it was self defense, with what has happened, my word is shit to them! They'll think, that I am just a dirty cop, who has to lie to save my ass! Don't you see?"

Leon arose from his seat now, speechless. Max was pretty much fucked in his opinion now too. "Well, what are you going to do?"

"I… I don't fucking know! Damn it!"

"Do the feds know you're here?"

"They should, they'll come eventually. Damn."

"Max, I don't know what you are going to do. But it's getting late now, and I can buy you some time." Max raised his eyebrow. "I'll tell the precinct that I saw you, uh, headed out of town. Okay?"

"Thanks, Leon."

"No problem, take care." With that, Leon walked towards the door, disappearing behind it.

Tommy Vercetti was headed towards Liberty City. He was wearing a black collared shirt and light blue jeans. His hair was gelled up, and was wearing glasses. His only thought was revenge. Max ruined it, Phil was dead. Claude was dead. Max was going to be dead next. He was staring out the window, the plane a few thousand feet in the air. It was only a matter of time before the Juank Air flight would come to an end, ultimately leading Tommy to Max.

It was on the news, the feds were going to search Max's apartment. Luckily Tommy had a source to locate the apartment. It was a race against the feds now, he had to take down Max Payne before the feds did. It wasn't long before the skyline of the city was outlined in the distance.

Slowly the plane lost it's height while swinging around the city to acquire it's landing position. Down below Tommy scanned Staunton Island, trying to find Max's apartment from his sight. A nice tune in the background was fitting, "I ran (so far away)" It reminded him from the better days, the young days. Speaking of not being young, he needed to shave his beard. Later for that though, today he had to go after Max.

The airport was in sight now, the plane lowered towards the runway, only a few hundred yards away. To be ready, Tommy needed to get a weapon, he had his day planned, only two tasks remained. Go to ammu-nation, and then got to Max's. The sun was beautiful, the sky a bright blue, barley and clouds, it was a good day. The plane became jittery as it touched down, around twenty minutes later Tommy grabbed his suitcase and exited though the metal detectors. It was good to be back in Liberty City. He held his hand out for a passing Taxi among the crowded sidewalks and streets. A Taxi pulled over, Tommy set his suitcase in beside him, in the backseat. "Hello there, I'm Daniel." he was an older man, gelled red hair, slightly wrinkly face. He dressed casually, he looked like a nice fellow.

"Hi," Tommy nodded, giving him a handshake. "I'm Tommy."

"Where you headed?"

"Ammu-Nation, Staunton Island."

"Alrighty."

He arrived, pulling over. "Want I should stay here, after you get done?" The driver, Daniel asked.

Tommy maneuvered the suitcase out of the seat. He shook his head, "No thanks. I can walk from here."

"Alrighty, that'll be seven thirty-three." Tommy paid the man a twenty, said he could keep it. Daniel thanked Tommy and then drove off to find another fare in Staunton Island.

Tommy entered the newly stocked store with a thick wallet.

"Gooday." An employee said. "Anything I can help you find?"

"Yeah, I have a, uh. Well, here." he handed a paper to the man. His eyes widened.

"Wow. Okay, I'll be happy to help you find this. Customer." He chuckled a bit.

Tommy followed the employee deeper into the shop. The floor had grown in size, it now had many isles. Guns and ammo populated the store like people do Liberty City, anywhere and everywhere. "Ah, here." The employee said. "A Colt Single Action Army." He unlocked the revolver safe, grabbing a beautiful, highly customized version 3 SAA.

"Great." The Single Action Army was a classic revolver. The version three released in 2007 had a customized frame, longer barrel, a filed down hammer, etc. All in all, it was more powerful than the desert eagle, and more accurate than the PSG1 sniper rifle.

"Ya know, some say this is the greatest handgun ever made."

"I acknowledged that."

"Excellent. Now, for the ammo, you wrote, ten boxes?"

"Yes."

"That'll be expensive, I hope you have the cash."

"Believe me, sir. I do." The employee grabbed the correct amount of merchandise and then headed back to the counter. There Tommy gladly paid the cash and exited the store. He put the weapon in the suitcase, and headed down the street, towards the center of Staunton Island to finish his job. "Paybacks a Bitch, ain't it Max?" he said to himself.


	26. A Legend Shortlived

**A/N: Sorry i haven't update in a long time. I m going to finish this story very soon, so enjoy the final few chapter like this one. Enjoy. Oh, and please leave a review... please**

"The rain was pouring down like all the angles in heaven were taking a piss at the same time."

The TV was on. Outside the darkness light up every thirty seconds with and atomic like thunder. Below in Liberty City, it was practically flooded. Max lay spun around on his old tan couch, on lamp illuminating the room. He was past out. There was knocking was at his door all night. It wouldn't go away. He found him self uncontrollably wondering around his apartment. The knocking at the door.

The thunder exploded in the distance again, the apartment building trembled. The ground started to shift, move, mutate. It was just a hallucination. He took another large drink straight out of the bottle of whiskey. The knocking never went away. The door opened, dark shadows moved in, shouting, screaming. Max had no defense. The room lit up like fireworks on the Forth of July. The apartment was ripped apart. One by one the shadows shot each other, turning the apartment into a blood bath. One of the shifting shadows had the face of Pierce. One had the face of the kid he had killed.

The knocking never went away. As he walked back and forth, the forty ounce in hand, his boots became stained with blood. The guts of the people he was stepping over were popping, breaking. It was a blood bath. Eventually Max stumbled to the floor, breaking has arm.

The rain came through the roof. He became soaked. The bodies disappeared, the walls disappeared, the roof disappeared. His .45 in hand. His arm was injured, the pain excruciating, to the bone. His arm was broken. The mud and grass he was crawling on became more dense by the second. The sky light up redundantly, shedding light in the pathway ahead.

Orange light behind him. Fire, something was on fire. Exploding. The knocking never went away. He was sucked back into the green void he had been in before, repeating it.

The knocking never went away.

Suddenly the world slid into focus, what made sense in the dream suddenly had no meaning. The knocking at the door. He twitched, jumping up. "Oh my god."

There was daylight. The knocking at the door turned into banging. His heart pounded more than he ever knew before. To see outside, he rushed to the window, forcing back the curtains. The sky was blue, clouds in the air. Below the luscious green Belleville park was as busy as a theme park. It was a normal day.

The banging became more intense.

It wasn't a normal day. A black Kuruma was parked across the street. The perspiration damped his whole body now. His heart pounding, the sick feeling in his stomach. The FBI.

"Max Payne! Open the door now, or I will be forced to knock it down."

He had to get out, no time to loose. Max dashed across his apartment, clenching the .45 in his hands. He grabbed his beat up leather jacket and stopped in front of the door. The banging continued. His heart pounded harder and harder. It felt like his chest would burst. His mind was wondering, thinking to fast.

"Open the door now! This is you last warning!"

What could he do? Kill the FEDS? Become a cop-killer? No, he couldn't. Run. That was all there was left to do, run. He was three stories above the ground, no way out.

"OPEN THE DOOR NOW!"

Time was running out, he had to act fast. Footsteps gathered upon the other side, time was out. They were coming in. _Now._

The door was hit furiously, almost knocked off the hinges, one more hit and they would be in. The prepared to break down the door. It was over.

The door flew off and they rushed in.

The window shattered as the body smashed into it. He tumbled to the ground, smashing over an awning, and then a cement patio rolling off it into the brush off the entrance to the building.

He lost his breath. Forcing himself up, he dashed out into the street. Looking for a car to steal.

The FBI upstairs quickly and thoroughly searched the apartment. One glanced out of the shattered window. "Below! He's getting away!"

The only car nearby was a 1998 classic muscle car, coal black with silver trim. Max stood in front of it and it came to a screeching halt. He pointed the gun at the drivers face, forcing him out, he hopped into the drivers seat, the radio booming loud. The vehicle peeled out, leaving tire marks on the road.

The Kuruma came to life, immediately as the muscle car peeled out. Two cars behind them, a Taxi was driving a fare.

It was getting late, Tommy was sitting in the back of the Taxi, his suitcase next to him. It wasn't soon before he spotted the FBI in pursuit, two cars ahead outside Max's apartment. It was Max.

It was Tommy's only chance. He had to take it. The Single Action Army was raised to the back of the drivers head, and he pulled the trigger. With no time to loose, he hopped into the drivers seat, forcing the poor civilian taxi driver's body onto the cold cement road. He took off after the chase.

Max was a few cars ahead, gliding over sidewalks to take the turns, dodging the pedestrians and passing up civilian vehicles. They zoomed by the North end of Belleville Park, past the basketball courts, under the ramp for the Shoreside Lift Bridge.

It was taking the southern turn, running parallel with the park when a local LCPD joined the chase. Max punched it, the loud engine revved up, gaining speed fast. The car drifted between two blurs of building east of the park, the second right turn heading south. The three cars, the Kuruma, LCPD, and a Taxi did the same.

Max passed up three more vehicles, gaining more speed than the police were. The Taxi and it's low durability became far behind. The Shoreside Lift Bridge bell began ringing. Max took the ramp hard, gliding over the middle bump into the other lane, barley dodging a green land cruiser.

At the turn, the feds caught up, bumper to bumper as they came upon the Lift Bridge. Giving one bump, the fed attempted to stop Max. A failed attempt, Max regained control, gaining speed while loosing the feds. The bell was still ringing, the bridge would lift any time now. Max swerved pas three more vehicles on the way down off the bridge, heading straight into Shoreside. The Cop and the fed were still on his tail. As he took the left turn, eastbound heading uphill, another black Kuruma gave pursuit.

The taxi cam to a screeching halt as the Shoreside Lift bridge arose. Tommy emerged from the car, violently throwing his arms around and cursing. His vehicle was too slow.

The next turn east, Max cut across the corner, tearing up grass while pedestrians dove out of the way for their safety. The two Kurumas were neck and neck with Max, one opened fire with a handgun. Sparks emitted as the bullets pierced the black framing of the car. They slowed to take another turn, north uphill still, speeding past the hospital and SVPD station.

The dam was just ahead, in the last second max swerved into the other lane, taking the right turn before the dam, gliding along the right side of the rode still. It was all too fast.

To the left was the Dam, and a cliff, to the right was a large concrete wall. At sixty miles per hour, Max was yards away from having a head on collusion with an SVPD cruiser. Max zoomed left on impulse, the car drifted on it's right side. The metal crunched and glass broke, the crunching sound traveled all over Shoreside vale. The SVPD cruiser rose from the ground a few feet. Particles of both cars became suspended in the air, all of it crashing down to the ground. Max's vehicle came to a stop upon the ledge of the cliff. His head became numb, his eyesight lost, lukewarm blood poured down from his forehead.

One black Kuruma lost control and shot into the air above the cliff, tumbling to the ground below. The other Kuruma also collided with the wrecked SVPD cruiser, sending it tumbling down the road. The last SVPD cruiser which was giving chase crushed into the side of the black Kuruma, tearing it's framing apart, sending it feet down the road.

An SVPD Enforcer was unfortunate to be speeding towards the chase scene. It slammed on it's breaks as it took the corner opposite the Cochrane Dam. It's force was so powerful it merely launched the already destroyed SVPD cruiser back up the hill in flames and pieces while still gliding into the air, forcefully dropping to the ground below the cliff.

The flaming SVPD cruiser became airborne, one again forcefully smashing into the very same black Kuruma it had collided with before, this time forcing it over the cliff along with it. The Kuruma crushed down upon Max's muscle car, causing the roof to cave in upon Max while also being pushed off the cliff. The three cars bounced off of the side of the cliff, becoming literally pieces of what the were before.

The muscle car did a barrel roll before plummeting straight into the ground below when the engine combusted, igniting the car into flames sending pillow of black smoke back up the cliff side and pieces of itself within a twenty foot radius of where it made contact with the ground.

**A/N: More to come next chapter! Please review. Thanks, Aaron**


	27. Liberty City Life Continues

Tommy Vercetti slowed the vehicle down as the smoke came into sight. He slowly approached the turn to see the scattered pieces of what used to be four or more vehicles, spread amongst the road and off the cliff side. Small patches of fire spread across the road, turning pieces of cloth into ashes, melting metal bars and mufflers, etc. Tommy eased out of the bloody taxi seat. The revolver in his hand shook with anticipation. It might be too late.

He walked over to the edge, avoiding a vehicle engulfed in flames. At the edge, coal black smoke made a wall in front of him. Max had to be dead. Tommy frowned in severe disappointment. Sirens in the background, a few blocks away. They would be here in a few seconds, Tommy had to retreat before the blood stained cab was found by the police.

"Son of a bitch." He thrust his fist into the air with violent force. He adjusted the revolver to aim below, into the smoke. One thunderous shot echoed throughout Shoreside. "That was for you. Max Payne."

He made a dash towards his vehicle, driving up towards the dam. Blue and red lights appeared behind him, upon the cliff. A red blur of a fire truck arrived, as well as a few ambulances and a couple Police Cruisers. By this Time Tommy was on the other side of the bay, watching from a safe difference. The rain came, more vigorous than ever before. It wasn't long before the orange glow across the bay was extinguished. Tommy returned to Staunton and visited his apartment.

As he entered the revolving glass doors into the clean lobby with bright red carpets and expensive statues, his clothes were soaked with rain. By the time he made it up to his apartment, it was around seven o'clock. Entering, he tossed his keys on the counter to his right and proceeded to take off his clothes, jump into the shower, then go straight to bed. He still had unfinished business to take care of.

The next morning the city lay damp with rain puddles. The sun broke through the morning clouds, another beautiful day. The rain had stopped falling, the busy city resuming to it's everyday life, short of the Jack Crime Families organization.

Before too long, wars would erupt within the city, gangs would be on assault to acquire the newly available territory in all three islands including Saint Marks in Portland, the JCF's former stronghold. It would be an all out chaotic war.

Claude's organization would become rebels amongst the gangs in Liberty, without a leader to lead them they would do as they please. It wouldn't be long before they would be off the Liberty City police database, erased from existence.

Leon Scott Kennedy strolled along the overcrowded sidewalks in Staunton Island. He approached a newspaper stand with a catching headline: "Car accident upon cliff in Shoreside; Chase after former SVPD officer ends dreadfully"

Leon continued reading the passage.

_Detective Max Payne of the Shoreside Vale Police Department was though to be one of the most respected officers. One week ago his badge was found at the crime scene in the San Andreas Desert stained with a dead child's blood. Police tracked Max Payne back to his apartment on Staunton Island, where the arrest would be made final, last night. Max Payne would not go without a fight, he was seen fleeing the police, speeding among Liberty City's streets endangering countless lives. It wasn't until approximately after five thirty last night that the chase came to a brutal end upon Mayer Street, where a six car accident ended in chaos, leaving eleven dead, three of the victims being FBI agents. Detective Max Payne's body was never recovered, but was thought to have perished in the explosion of the vehicle he **-Continue of Page A-14** _

Leon murmured, "Oh my god-Max. What did you do?" Not knowing what to do, Leon continued across the street and on his way. He approached his car, unlocked the door and hopped into the drivers seat.

The car arrived outside Max's apartment building. Across the street were a few police vehicles, a section of road marked off by the yellow police tape. Someone must have died there. Up above, one of the window panes on the third floor was broken through, letting light shed into the room. It was Max's apartment. Leon headed inside and up to floor three.

The elevator doors eased their way open, Leon rushed down the hall to Max's room. Two stiff officers blocked his way. Leon approached them.

"I'm sorry sir," said the large, more husky, black haired man. He held out his hand to stop Leon. "I can't let you pass."

Leon shuffled his hand round in his jacket pocket. "LCPD." He held out his badge.

"Sorry, Leon Kennedy. Go right ahead." Leon passed them, entering the room.

Last night, Tommy was sleeping in his bed when a knock echoed through the apartment. He stood up, still fully dressed, to answer the knocking at the door. Behind the door was an old friends of Tommy's.

He opened to door to reveal a black haired woman in a sexy red dress. She had a sadistic smile across her face. Without any words she walked inside, right up to Tommy.

"What are doing?" Tommy asked. "H-Hillary."

"Shh." She forced him into the bedroom, romantically kissing him all the way there. When they reached the bed, she started to removed her dress, bra, etc, continuing to make out. She tore his shirt off, pushed him down onto the bed, and then proceeded. It wasn't long before they were both under the covers.

After their lovemaking Tommy was passed out in the bed with her in his arms.

The next morning, Hillary quietly opened the door and proceeded downstairs, leaving Tommy alone in his apartment. He awoke, expecting to see her by his side. All there was, was an empty spot next to him. He stood up, putting his clothes on, then continued into the living room. The curtains in front of the living room filtered the incoming light a bright blue.  
He searched the living room, her stuff was gone. The Single Action Army lay astray upon his couch. He carefully lifted it up and placed it in his bedroom. It was a strange relationship, him and Hillary's. They were like boyfriend and girlfriend, with the exception that they only see each other every few weeks, when what usually happens is a passionate night of love.

Tommy returned to the living room, then to the kitchen, opening the fridge to retrieve some breakfast. It wasn't until he finished his second piece of bacon and second cup of orange juice that his cell phone rang. Not knowing where it was, he jumped up from his meal, heading towards the ringing. Somewhere in his bedroom.  
About the third ring, he tore the covers off of his bed, revealing the slim silver and black cell. He hastily gabbed it.  
"Hello?"  
"Tommy? Tommy, we got a situation down here." The worried voice spoke, fast an uneasy.  
"Fred? Fred! Calm down."  
"Tommy- I don't know Tommy."  
"Fred what's going on?"  
"Tommy, you have to get over here. Now."  
"What's happening?"  
"Soma- some some, guys they just, and then, Tom, Tom, Tommy! Get down here."

"Hey Fred! Get a hold of yourself. Breathe. Now, tell me what happened."

"Some, Mafia crime lord, man. Just, get-" Tommy hung up the phone.

He grabbed the car keys to a vehicle parked across the street. He locked his door then headed downstairs, then outside and across the street. Tommy knew where to go. Fred McCann was an overly hyper speed addict who worked for Tommy, long time friend. He works over in Harwood, usually just dealing drugs nowadays, behind closed doors. He was still in touch with Tommy, a sort informant of the actions the Portland gangs were taking.

Minutes later, the red Stinger Tommy was cruising in pulled up in front of the AMCO gas station. Tommy entered. Fred was in the corner, between two aisles, cowering like a dog on Independence Day.

"Hello Fred."

Fred must have jumped two feet in the air and then fell over. Tommy was surprised at how bad Fred had gotten.

"Jesus Christ! Shit, Tommy." Fred's hair was very 'messy' and his clothes were months old, stained with wine, dirt, and god knows what else.

"I believe you have something to tell me?" Tommy leaned closer to him.

"These, these-these Mafia guys, ya know. Real clean shaven, smelled good, dressed nice, these-these guys, they just walked up to me. And I-I-I-I said to them, I said, I-I, 'what do you guys want?' And that's-that's. when they pushed me up against the-the, the wall. Right outside," he pointed, "and, and-and then-then I-I, they the said they wanted to talk to you."

"What?"

"It's-It's true, it's what they said, Tommy. They knew I knew you, you know what I mean?"

"Thanks Fred." Tommy started off.

"Hey! Hey wait, Tommy."

He stopped, turning around. He waited for Fred to speak.

"You, you wanna buy some stuff?"

"Eh, Fuck no! Go sell that shit to your ex-wife for Christ's sake."

Tommy returned to his car, constantly glancing around for any Mafia hires. He got into his car and sat for a moment. A man steadily approached his car. Tommy readied himself for questioning from the Mafia.

The man was dressed in brown, something in his right hand. When he got close to the window, he pointed a .45 through the window at Tommy. "Get out of the fuckin' car bitch, before I bust yo ass."

Tommy grinned, snapping the pistol out of his hands. Before he knew it, he was putting bullets into the carjackers chest. "Fuckin prick." He tossed the murder weapon on top of the carjacker's lifeless body and then drove off.

As he cruised through saint marks, a payphone began to ring as he came to a stop sign. Tommy turned his head and glanced at the white box. "No way." He opened the door and answered the call. A voice on the other end spoke.

"Meet us at the Gentleman's Club, north west of Portland, 1 hour. Bring no one, and no weaponry. You will be searched." The dial tone came.

After contemplating the decision for over twenty minutes, Tommy dressed in black and proceeded to drive to the location. Upon driving up the dirt road, two coal black four doors were parked out front. Tommy pulled up next to one and while unarmed, exited the vehicle.

As he headed towards the club, three men appeared, telling Tommy to stop where he was. Then the search came, standing procedure when two gangs make a deal, but was that their intentions with Tommy? He was eager to find out.

Two of the men's identities were concealed. They were both dressed in gray suits, both a thick mustaches and dark tinted glasses. One was a larger man, with a muscular figure, the other was more slim but still intimidating.

The man in the middle wore a greenish suit, with the jacket open and a large gold-chained necklace dangled from his neck upon a white collared shirt. He was pretty young, probably in the late thirties, his hair gelled back, creating a 'poof' in front. His mustache was a thick brown, his eyes a beautiful shade of blue. He moved like a gentlemen should move.

"Mr. Vercetti." He spoke, his voice kindly deep.

"What do you want?"

"As you know, my boss was, uh. Shall I say, retired. And now that I have taken his place, I would like to propose, an offer for you."

"What kind of offer is that?"

"The kind, where you give up a few blocks of territory for the better of our organization, and we have a neutral alliance."

"That means that-"

"I don't attack you, you don't attack me. My intentions here are to regain control of what is rightfully mine."

"Yours?"

"This Mafia, in Liberty. Last time it was that fool of a group, the Jack Crime Organization, but now, Padrino will be taking control."

"So, all I get is a neutral alliance? That's it?"

"No, of course we will, meet some needs for you, such as one hundred grand. Does that persuade you?"

"You know that every gang in the city has their eye on this land? They'll all fight for it."

"Yes, that is why we want to, gain some territory over in Staunton so we have our support. What do you say about that, Mr. Vercetti?"

"Let me think about it."

"If you say no, there will be consequences, Mr. Vercetti."

"What's that supposed to mean? Is that a threat?"

"It is whatever you make of it, Mr. Vercetti. Have you made your decision, yes or no?"

"You wanna know what I think?"

"Yes, Mr.-"

"I think, you can take you little deal, and shove it up you asses for all I care." Tommy retreated towards his car.

"You're making a big mistake." Padrino warned as Tommy was walking off.

Tommy turned around before getting into his car, "We'll see about that."

He opened the door and hopped in. He drove down the dirt road, headed back towards Staunton Island.

**A/N: I lied. The original ending I had in mind was replaced by some new storyline content I came up with. Expect this to end later on in the future. Yay. Oh, and, PLEASE leave a review... Please?**


	28. Risk

It has been one week prior to the returning of the Mafia. This time it was the San Andreas mafia, from Las Venturas to be exact. Padrino is now in control, the others have been wiped out, the Jack Crime Families are gone. It is now his time to rule. Having a specific plan to follow, Padrino prepares for the next move while sitting in his office.

He sat proudly, excited as a child on Christmas Eve. He enjoyed sitting in the Don's chair, the same brown leather chair that had been used long before, by all the great leaders of the Crime Organizations in Liberty City; this included Veto, Donny, Salvatore, and Connor. Now he was sitting in the chair.

The solid brown door opened, and a man dressed in blue jeans, a red shirt and brown jacket entered. He stood like a gentlemen, having the utmost respect for the Don, Padrino. "Sir, Mr. Don, I have ceased a whole block of apartment buildings in Shoreside Vale, they are fully under our control, Mr. Don."

"Excellent." A smile was brought about under Padrino's thick mustache. "Any uh, word form Mr. Vercetti?'

"No, at least not yet, Mr. Don."

"Jerry, come sit down." Jerry approached the chair and slowly sat down. A man stood with his hands cupped in front of him, keeping quiet. He had short black hair, a goatee, and dressed in a silk shirt and white pants, wearing a stylish cap. He looked slim, yet fit. He was pretty much an average sized person.

"This, this is Jonathan Léon." Padrino waved him to come and sit down in the other seat. "He is French, came from Vice City, I uh, called him here. Thought he could be of assistance."

Jerry shrugged, "Yeah."

"You see, he seems to be very, 'sneaky', shall we put it? He can get his hands on some of the most valuable information that we could possibly think of."

"What kind of information is that, Mr. Don?"

"The sort of information that has to deal with, the FBI, the DA, the LCPD, and of course other crime organizations among this very city."

"What are you asking of me?"

"I need you to help him, with whatever he needs help with. Simple as that, Jerry."

"You got it, Don."

"Thank you. Oh and one more thing, I want you to go pay Mr. Vercetti a visit for me."

"Sure thing Mr. Don. Anything else?"

"No, that'll be it." Jerry and Jonathan rose from their seats and exited the building via the front door, heading out towards the black Sentinels.

Tommy Vercetti exited a doughnut shop on Staunton island, both of his hands full. He took a large drink of the ice cold Sprunk he had in his right hand, then took another bite of the doughnut he had in his other. His red Stinger was only a few feet in front of him.

All he saw was a black blur speed by. At this time, Tommy had dropped his food and dove behind his car, taking cover from the oncoming fire from the street. It was raining bullets, the assassin had been wielding two Mac 10's which fired incredibly fast, spraying the entire sidewalk with bullets. By the time the shots stop firing, the black vehicle was gone, out of sight.

Behind Tommy lay two innocent civilians, each with three or so bullet wounds in their upper body, leaking dark red blood over the pavement. Further behind them lay thousands of pieces of shattered glass from the doughnut store. The isles where a mess, powder everywhere along with torn pieces of doughnut. Tommy's car was painted with grey bullet holes along the frame.

Before Tommy began to figure out who had driven by, his cell rang. He lifted it out of his pocket, answering it. The same voice was speaking to him as before:

"If that did not persuade to take the deal, you can expect to see more of us. Padrino wants to talk to you again. Meet him at the basketball courts near the Callahan Bridge in thirty minutes. Do the same as before, you will be searched." The dial tone returned.

"Son of a bitch!" Tommy shouted at the top of his lungs.

Tommy's ruined Stinger pulled up next to the basketball courts. Two men in black searched him before they let his pass the gate.

It was a beautiful day, the sky was blue, the grass was green, the trees were appealing to the eye and the sun was shining brightly upon the court. The Don stood waiting for Tommy to arrive.

"Mr. Vercetti, am I going to have force you to take the deal or what?"

"What the fuck is your problem? I said no, nothing you say to me will make me change my mind god damn it."

"Mr. Vercetti, I must warn you, I feel as though, if I let you reject my deal, that it would be putting you life in danger, and I don't want that."

Tommy scoffed, "You think you're funny god damn it? Fuck you."

"Mr. Vercetti, how old are you?"

"None of you fucking business."

"Fifty? Sixty? Older? I would think that you would be much more wise than you are now."

"Is that a threat, bitch?"

"Tommy, you need to learn some respect."

"Fuck you!"

"Tommy. Ahem. Mr. Vercetti, if you piss me off, I can have you killed right here right now. Two men have their crosshairs over you right at this second."

Tommy glanced around, searching for the snipers. Dozens of people were strolling by along the sidewalk, as well as cars passing by. He couldn't see any snipers.

"Mr. Vercetti, this is you last chance. Take my offer and spare yourself the suffering, the consequences that will come."

Tommy gave Padrino the finger as he ignorantly returned to his car, driving down the street and disappearing from Padrino's view.

Later that day in San Andreas, the sky was painted orange from the gentle glow of the lowering sun to the west. Las Venturas was alive, action everywhere from the topless bars to back alleys where steamed up cars were parked. From the casino gaming floor to the burger shot across the street, the city was no busy all day long.

Slowly the city began it's transformation from a beautiful fun relaxing day, into a spontaneous exciting night. Meanwhile, a limo arrived through the gate to the landing strip to Las Venturas Airport. The Limo was painted Mafia black and had dark tinted windows. The limo pulled up next to one of two private Leer Jets perpendicular to the runway.

Four men got out of the limo, all dressed in identical black suits and ties. It wasn't long before three Landstalkers arrived and twelve Mafia filtered out. They filled up of the jets. Minutes later more Mafia arrived to board the other jet. Within the hour, the planes were airborne, flying forty-five degrees north over ocean and then the mainland, directly towards Liberty City.

Throughout the next week, several trips were made back and forth across America, the two Leer jets were transporting Padrino's troops to Liberty City. By the time the week ended, Padrino had more than sixty new troops at his disposal, and more on their way. It was merely one more step towards his goal of controlling the City.

The day would come. The day where all the gangs and crime organizations in Liberty would fight for the lost area of which was the Jack Crime Families. Upon this day there would be more killing, manslaughter, and more shootouts in Liberty City than ever before. It would be a new record for the city. Crime rates would be at an unrealistic all time high, as well as the death toll in the city. It would all be between the Yakuza Crime Organization, the Triads, the Diablos, the South Side Hoods, the Yardies, the Vercetti Crime Organization, the Mafia, and the Cartel.

Prior to this day, the gang fights were foreplay, just to secure a spot in the action, usually only a building or two. The available locations were: The entire vicinity of Saint Marks, partial Harwood, partial Newport, partial Wichita Gardens, Pike Creek, and partial Cedar Grove.

On this day, the city would be overwhelmed with gang wars, bodies would pile up along the streets, which would run red with blood. The waiting was intense, not just for Tommy but for every gang fighting for the land. What it all came down to was the peroration, then who would attack first. The question still remains. _Who will attack first?_

Tommy Vercetti was sitting in his apartment, going over in his mind the territory that could be acquired in the next few days. He was sitting on his couch, lean over his knees with his hands on his head, thinking hard. The possibly territory acquired could mean the domination or end to any of the gangs in the city. He remembered Claude, his other condo which was still standing. It could be a huge gain for the Vercetti's, but would there be a more strategic place of attack? Most of the conflict would be in Saint Marks.

The Diablos would charge into the remaining Harwood area, then attack Saint Marks where the Mafia would likely be held up. The Triads would most likely do the same, they have all the elements. Their stronghold is located directly in Chinatown, almost adjacent to Saint Marks; a very close trip. It would be hard to say, but chances are the Yakuza would be going for Saint Marks as well, after all, if they acquired it, they would have the upper hand by having the strongpoint in Portland.

Overall, it was a game of Risk. Guessing where your opponents are going to attack and guess if they would be successful. Then examining the situation and deciding where it would be best to attack. The same would go for you as well. A game of risk. Tommy was interested to see what the outcome would be. The first attack would be any day now. The waiting was terrible.

**A/N: Be prepared for some action! Please review!**


	29. Frostbite

**A/N: I've been writing thisalmost all day. I hope you like it, I tried hard. Please review.**

Slowly the second week passed by. The streets were cold, quiet. Tommy himself was getting anxious. He found himself calling Hillary every night now, which was unusual. Padrino had ceased a few buildings in Saint Marks, one near the hospital.

Padrino's cousin Valentine had just arrived to Francis International via commercial airline. He was currently being escorted via limo along with bodyguards to Padrino's newly acquired property in Saint Marks.

Winter was definitely here. It was just over thirty degrees outside in the cold, crisp morning. The grass throughout the city was frozen, along with vehicles windshields painted with ice. The water upon the roads crystallized, creating deathtraps to passers by. Slowly the limo crossed the newly repaired Shoreside Lift bridge. It was getting closer to it's destination.

The Diablos were ruthless. The fighting was held off long enough for them to acquire their merchandise from the black market which arrived yesterday evening, via tanker.

The clock upon the dashboard of the tan colored, ice painted Alpha read six-oh-five am. The sun started it's daily climb, turning the frozen sky into a pink and blue sunrise. The wind was blowing slightly strong. Four black men stood dressed in ski masks, and cargo pants, and red and black sweaters. Into the trunk of the Alpha vehicle, one placed an AK-47 and boxes of ammo. One of the men approached the drivers seat and the others filed into their passenger seats. The driver placed two loaded ice cold grey Ingrams in his lap. The man next to him held a 9mm Uzi, as did the man behind him. The last gangster also held two Ingrams, ready for battle.

The limo arrived outside of the Mafia controlled building. Valentine and two bodyguards exited. The limo disappeared around the corner and Valentine continued up to the front door, pass the two Mafia guards outside.

Upstairs Padrino was enjoying a glass of whiskey. One of his informants arrived at his door. "Sir."

"Yes?"

"It's you cousin, Valentine. He has arrived, outside, downstairs."

"Mm-hmm, okay. It's about time that asshole arrived," he started laughing, "ain't I right? Ah, well at least we have more support now, don't we?"

Padrino arrived downstairs as Valentine exited the limo, approaching the door. He looked very much like Padrino, with a more wide jaw and uplifted eyebrows. He was older too.

He entered the door.

The tan Alpha arrived outside the building right as Valentine was at the door, entering. They came to a complete stop, catching some passers by's eyes, as well as the Mafia guards. The driver behind started to get pissed off, cursing out loud.

The driver seat window was rolled down. In slow motion the driver sat upon the window frame, lifting his firearms up into the air. The other men joined him, raising their weapon's fast enough to catch the Mafia off guard. Then the shots rang out. Short-continual bursts of flame and blasts of sound.

Valentine was shot down, ten or so shots to his back which was crimson red with fresh blood. The rain of bullets also brought his bodyguards down with a blaze, covered in showers of blood.

Two guards at the door were prepared to return fire, but where bouncing off the bloody wall from being hit by dozens of bullets before they could return fire. Various troops inside were hit as well, some minor injuries such as shoulder wounds, while others had head shots, laying dead in puddles of blood.

The civilians were long gone at the first sign of warfare, fleeing the area for their lives. The Mafia had no good vantage points and had to take the oncoming fire for a few minutes. The front of the building was no longer a building. The walls were filled with bullet holes, glass was shattered, plaster and particles of bricks were spread amongst the bloody sidewalks and bodies.

Inside were five dead Mafia, one of the being Valentine. The walls opposite the open door and windows were also torn up by the vigorous shots, plaster and particles of rubbish which covered the room. The couches were shot up as well as the tables and drinks were, creating a junkyard within the room.

Mafia gunmen took their places at the windows throughout the building, returning an overwhelming amount of fire. This included pistols, M4's, 12 gauges, Mac 10's, and so on. In one window a Mafia aimed a large weapon at the vehicle.

Throughout the screaming and yelling, he heard his cue, "Shoot it." The end of the tube-like weapon shot off, leaving a trail of smoke behind it.

One second of being airborne and it made contact with the front of the vehicle, where they both (the missile and vehicle) combusted, lighting up on fire with the thunderous explosion, shooting metal debris across the street. The drive shot out of the window on flames immediately after the explosion which launched the Alpha, flaming into the air backwards. A few more seconds and it was upside down, engulfed in bright orange flames.

In Harwood, three Diablo Stallions raced towards the flaming battleground. In all of the chaos, Triads also started their assault, attacking opposite the Diablo's position.

Minutes later, the Mafia had snipers in all of the surrounding buildings, along with the RPG upon the top floor of Padrino's building. Before things got worse, Padrino was escorted out of the area to a secure location along with his dead cousin's body.

The fighting continued for hours to come in Saint Marks, the Mafia had sustained their numbers while the Diablos and Triads were dropping on arrival. Later in the day the temperature dropped, snowfall began covering the city, paving the streets and sidewalks white.

At seven am Tommy was again with Hillary, this time they were both awake and still busy in bed this early morning. The bed shook slightly as Tommy's cell rang again, lighting up the blue color it does when he received an incoming call.

Both look at the cell, not stopping. Tommy ignore it and continued.

Fred, the druggie in Harwood, was going to inform Tommy that a hit had been made and in no time would Tommy be under attack. Fred sat leaned against the wall in the freezing cold weather in his torn up clothes. He shook slightly, his breath snow white in the freezing cold air. He stood up, grabbing a bicycle parked outside the gas station.

He had to get to Tommy, not only to inform him, but to have a warm place to stay at night. A fit young man exited the gas station and saw Fred riding off. "Hey!" he shouted, anger in his voice. "Hey! That's my bike!"

At the five minute mark, Fred had almost lost control of the bike five of six times due to the icy sidewalks, ignorant drivers and pedestrians in the city, gunshot continuously in the background, it was a war.

Fred tirelessly pedaled over the Callahan bridge, now only a few blocks away from Tommy's. He kept his pace up.

In the middle of it, Tommy's door was busted open. In a hurry, Tommy threw Hillary off him and dove for the revolver upon the night stand. Gunshots tore through the living room as Tommy quickly got dressed. Three men stood dressed in blue and purple clothing, Japanese. Yakuza. They were wielding automatic hand pistols, Ingrams.

"Hillary, stay in here. I mean it." Tommy's voice was deep and fierce, Hillary obeyed.

More shots tore through the apartment, obliterating everything in it. Tommy leaned out taking three shots before the Yakuza could react. His last shot of the three hit a Yakuza in the chest, blowing straight through him and into the wall of which he bounced onto then slid to the ground leaving dark red blood upon the cream colored wall.

The Yakuza shot at the bedroom door Tommy was at, destroying the wall around it, filling them with the ever so familiar bullet holes. When the shots stopped, Tommy blindly shot back with his hand out the door, hoping to hit one. No success.

The Ingrams lit up again and Tommy pulled back his arm, nearly getting shot. The front door burst open again, smashing into one of the Yakuza forcing him to the ground. Fred stood there like an idiot before he realized who they were. "Holy shit! Tommy!"

The other Yakuza started to fist fight Fred, giving him a few well placed jabs to the face while screaming something in Japanese.

Tommy heard Fred's plea, diving out from the door. He then stood to see Fred getting the stuffing beat out of him, one Yakuza was rising from the floor, automatic pistol in hand. Raising the ten pound revolver, the Yakuza bounced backwards due to the force of which the bullet tore through his head. Tommy shot again at the other Yakuza, his chest popped throwing blood over the walls, door, and Fred before he flew into the wall and dropped to the floor.

Tommy helped Fred onto the bullet hole-filled couch. "Fred?" Tommy slightly slapped his drowsy looking face. "Fred? Are you okay, Fred?"

His vision was blurry, his face numb, he couldn't speak. Tommy rushed to the door and glanced outside into the red hallway, glancing down each direction. More Yakuza were on their way. He returned to Fred.

"Fred? Fred. Fred!"

"Uh, wha-what?" he slurred out.

"Come one," Tommy picked him up and carried him into the bedroom. Hillary was dressed now.

"Hun, what's going on?"

"We need to get out, now. The fire escape."

"But Tom-"

"Now!" The trio climbed through the bedroom window, Tommy helping Fred all of the way down.

About three floors down from his apartment, Tommy glanced below, about three more floors to go. Upon the street lay four empty Yakuza stingers. "Son of a Bitch." he murmured.

One more floor down. A thunders explosion shook the apartment building. It trembled, bringing all three of them to their knees. They could feel the heat above them and fire dissolved into the air, leaving small particles of burning debris and glass to fall below.

Smoke rose high into the air from Tommy's apartment, it was now engulfed in flames. The Yakuza had set a bomb in it. Tommy rushed off his anger and got to the ground. The three ran into the middle of the street. Tommy forced a civilian cab driver out, the three hopped in the car and sped off as angry Yakuza exited the building firing at Tommy with their automatic weapons, this time they were TEC 9's.

Minutes passed and Tommy arrived at a warehouse on Shoreside. The three entered the building. It was Tommy's Criminal Empire. His men were spread throughout the warehouse, which was incognito to every gang in the city. They entered a hallway with cement floor and white painted walls.

Tommy turned, "You too, stay in here." He pointed to his right. It was a comfortable bedroom with a ceiling fan, two beds, a table, TV, and one very small window. Tommy continued through the hallway out into a large room, filled with many chairs, boxes, crates, and a few of Tommy's men.

"Gentlemen, the war of Liberty had been started. It is now our time to rise up and defeat the returning mafia in Portland. Get heated, and follow me over to the garage. That's all." Tommy's speech was prepared. He lead a total of fifteen men out to the garage, which had six grey Sentinels. Four Sentinels were loaded with gunmen, one of them being Tommy. He lead the group, well armed with M4's and armor, towards Portland.

The four Sentinels drove in a line, weaving in and out, through the traffic. Tommy's reason for assault on Saint Marks was to eliminate the Mafioso from Liberty, for good once again.

The four Sentinels continued over Callahan bridge gliding through the city, each soldier anxious to start shooting. For a back up plan, Tommy had an emergency Maverick on standby, for evacuation in case it was needed.

Now under the L-train, the convoy started up the hill. Ahead, multiple police cars were abandoned. They were covered in bullet holes and broken glass. About for or five bodies lay across the road of gunned down officers, blood covered.

The war was still raging on, gunfire just ahead. They sped in, past a few burning vehicles, over a few bodies, coming to a stop at the corner. They exited their vehicles and continued on foot, the shooting right up the road. The streets were abandoned except for fighting gangs, the police even quit attempting to stop the war.

From the east, Tommy's men entered the battle zone. By this time, the war was right outside of Toni's Mamma's restaurant. The Mafioso were held up in the restaurant with Diablos attacking from the North and the Triads attacking form the West.

Tommy and his men dashed into the firefight with one goal in mind-take out Padrino. Bullets shot above their head as Tommy and three soldiers took cover behind an abandoned LCPD cruiser, the others took cover behind various items such a poles, newspaper stands, etc. Sparks shot out as the bullets hit the frame of the cruiser. One by one the invading Diablos dropped to the cement in blood.

When he saw his chance, Tommy violently dashed through the street avoiding gunfire. One of his men dropped due to a sniper bullet. As he neared the entryway to the restaurant more Triad vehicles raced towards him.

Before they reached the battle zone, one large explosion caused from an RPG took out one vehicle. Engulfed in flames, it spun out, smashing into the other Triad vehicles, causing a four car pileup.

Tommy raced up the stairs and was greeted by three mafia guards. He dove to avoid gunfire as his two remaining soldiers gunned them down. Tommy and his men prepared to enter the Mafia controlled building as the fighting outside continued. Tommy had about eight or nine soldiers who were still alive, holding their position behind several shot up police vehicles. The cement was blood red covered with bodies every five feet. The war raged on.

The adrenaline pumped through his veins. When he got this feeling, he felt invincible. The world was suddenly in slow motion through his eyes. He signaled his soldiers to charge in. Upon entry the Mafia soldiers opened fire. From every angel, every degree, bullets came. Tommy dodged a few before dropping to the ground behind a counter along with his two men.

Even still, the bullets never stopped coming. Their only chance was to shoot blind by positioning the weapons above their head, firing over the counter. Seconds later the gunfire became less intense while screams of Mafia troops persisted.

Tommy jumped up, firing at the enemies as he dove over a waiting couch, bullets following him as he dashed to the other side of the restaurant. Distracted, the Mafia soldiers were hit with a surprise attack from Tommy's men. The dinning floor became a covered in battle scars. Upon the many dead Mafia were blood painted sub machine guns. With the floor cleared, they all headed for the stairs at the back of the large room.

Padrino walked back and forth amongst the shooting, furious. He was cursing at Tommy Vercetti who was just below him. His chest was covered by a ten pound bullet proof vest. There were only five Mafia soldiers left in the building, the rest were had been slain throughout Saint Marks.

"That mother fucker is going to fuckin pay god DAMN IT!" he thrust his hand into the air as hard as he could, just about in tears.

"Mr. Don." Spoke one of the remaining soldiers, and M4 in hand. "What do you propose we do?"

Down below, outside, the fighting had shifted to the Triads verses the last few of Tommy's men. The bodies outside became covered in some millions of tiny frozen snowflakes, their blood crystallizing due to the temperature. The Diablos were no longer in the picture, wiped out, obliterated, gone. Meanwhile, the LCPD police force was preparing for an attack. The county's just outside of the city limits had lend Liberty their forces, including SWAT, FBI, task force, etc. In a matter of minutes the law enforcement was going to regain control of Portland.

Tommy began up the half turn stairs, the door was opened to Padrino's office. They were only a few feet away.

"Padrino! They' coming!" alerted a soldier.

"Son of a BITCH!" he screamed. One of the Mafia tossed a frag grenade to Padrino who, at the door, pulled the pin and tossed it down.

The metal clang was heard. Tommy glanced at the green ball bounce off the wall. "Oh shit! Grenade!" He turned, jumping down the stairs over his men. The explosion tore through the staircase, collapsing it while killing Tommy's men and engulfing the area in small flames.

Tommy tumbled down the last few steps. He forced himself up, his body becoming soar.

Padrino screamed, "Give me that fucking piece of shit!" The soldier tossed him his M4. "Die you rat bastard mother fucker!" The firearm was aimed at the floor. Every half second another bullet shot through the floor nearly hitting Tommy.

The bullets came closer and closer. Tommy dashed across the room before he would be killed. Returning fire, Tommy shot the ceiling. The bullets shot through killing one Mafia while injuring another. After reloading Tommy spotted another flight of stairs. He ended up one floor above Padrino's office, in a sort of apartment like room. At the other side was a door, Tommy continued through it, going down a floor and coming into the office from another entryway.

The room was dark, the walls purple with wood paneling at the bottom three feet. The floor was wood as well, everything in the room was oak. He was immediately shot at.

Running to the left, towards the window, the bullets were inches off from hitting Tommy, putting holes in the wall and chipping away at the plaster. While dodging the bullets he also shot back, easily taking out the last of Padrino's men.

Padrino cursed even louder, filling the wall with bullets as Tommy dove behind his desk. The click signaled the empty clip. He cursed again Tommy jump up shooting. Three bullets hit his chest, forcing him back from the impact. He was still standing, Tommy's clip ran empty.

Both men hurried to reload. Padrino was ready to fire by the time Tommy realized he was clean out of ammo. The M4 slowly raised up, Tommy five feet away, staring down the barrel of the rifle. His heart beat seemed to echo in the sudden silence. He twitched before jumping out of the window behind him, the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Tommy flopped out of the window like a brick, landing on a picnic table out front which collapsed under his weight and the fall. The fall made his body become numb, he heard the gunfire once again. Almost dreaming, he lost it. A second later he came back to reality. A sudden urge made him jump up and dash into the blood and snow covered street, gunshots following his path.

Padrino jumped out of the window after Tommy, landing on his feet then taking chase. Every few seconds he would fire a few shots at Tommy, missing every time. They were running west, towards the AMCO gas station. A crashed Bravura was along the street. Tommy threw the door open, gunfire zoomed by his body, one shot hit his right arms shoulder.

Blood spatter on the window and down his shirt, the pain stinging, his arm tingly and numb. As the car took of more bullets pierced the metal emitting sparks as they hit. Tommy headed for the empty construction site, western Portland.

Padrino wasn't far behind. In a flame painted Diablo Stallion with one bullet hole in the windshield, he sped pass the wrecked vehicles in the streets, dodging the remaining fighting gang members and skidding along the snow covered streets. He caught up to Tommy fast.

The cars were next to each other, speeding around the corners, gliding up and down the small sloped roads into the Red Lights District. Padrino opened fire, the bullets took out the front and rear windshield. Tommy ducked as bullets passed above his head, almost loosing control of the car. The sped under the bridge and onto a sloped dirt road into the demolished construction site. A black Maverick in sight, ready to take off.

Tommy's bravura drifted left and right while he tried to keep the car steady from the repeated bumps from Padrino. Now yards away, Tommy slowed down and hopped out of the vehicle into a sprint towards the chopper.

Padrino also exited, letting his vehicle roll unguided off to the right. A few shots rang out and a few bullets nearly hit Tommy. Padrino hastily reloaded as Tommy boarded the chopper.

Immediately it became airborne lifting off the ground. Padrino tried to grab on but it was too late, the choppers started to head towards Staunton Island, southbound parallel to Portland's coast. He fired at the Maverick as he returned to his Stallion, speeding towards the Callahan Bridge. He was like glue, sticking nearby, following the chopper.

Tommy was trying to loose him, he wasn't about to retreat back to the warehouse, not revealing his hideout, that wasn't an option. With his apartment gone, he had nowhere to go. The chopper swung around South Staunton Island, following the coastline all the way around, and then heading North. The chopper was too far to be shot at. Padrino sped up to around one hundred miles per hour.

From the chopper, the Diablo Stallion was still in sight, heading towards the bridge, neck and neck along with a black Sentinel. The thought hit Tommy's mind. More Mafia.

The chopper neared the Staunton Lift bridge, Padrino and the black Sentinel stopped on the rising piece of road, the bell ringing. Closer the chopper came. The Mafia hustled to get a large weapon out of the trunk, and RPG.

Tommy had no choice. If he wanted to survive, he knew he would have to take out the Mafia on the bridge before they took him out. He told the pilot what to do.

The maverick lowered, just above the height of the bridge, Tommy had control of the custom installed M60 turret. The RPG had no clear view. The chopper was barley above the large metal bears of which held up the bridge. Now directly over the bridge, the chopper still lowered, the shot was clear. The soldier took it.

The M60's barrel light up sending hundreds of bullets towards the Mafia on the bridge, spraying them like cockroaches. The small Rocket became large as it quickly headed toward the chopper. They were only thirty or so feet in the air.

The rocket exploded yards before impact, sending thousands of sparks and fire dissipating into the air. The force of the explosion pushed the helicopter as if it was shoved, Tommy slipped out of his seat and tumbled to the ground.

The pilot regained control before the chopper crashed into the edges of the bridge. As Tommy stood up the ground below them shook, the bridge was lowering. He caught his breath from the fall and let out a gasp. The left side of his face was scraped badly among the cement.

In front of him, the two vehicles sat disabled covered in hundreds of bullet holes. Four Mafia soldiers bodies lay lifeless, mangled from the M60's gunfire. Padrino sat leaned up against the Stallions hood. His face was purple, blood sliding down the side of his face. His vest covered in blood, his leg badly injured. A loaded M4 still in his hands. He took another breathe. He spoke quietly, "Run. Asshole. Run."

Tommy looked to the chopper above him, it lowered a ladder. About to open fire, Padrino screamed, cursing at Tommy once again, standing up. The bullets missed terribly as Padrino slowly limped into the middle of the road. Tommy climbed up the vigorously shaking ladder up to the seats of the Maverick.

The chopper regained height to fly over the metal beams, heading towards Shoreside. Tommy looked back at Padrino. After reloading, the strong willed man still fired at the chopper. Three Yakuza Stingers sped on the wrong side of the empty bridge at dangerously high speeds.

Padrino was hit, he bounced off the front of the first stinger like a rag doll, his body bending in unordinary ways. The second stinger smashed his body into the ground, the third ended up tearing piece of his body off and dragging it along leaving blood until it finally fell off as they got off of the bridge.

The chopper continued over Pike Creek, nearing the warehouse, only fifty feet in the air. The same three Yakuza Stingers arrived. The Yakuza jumped out firing assault rifles at the chopper. Already enduring enough damage, the chopper began to emit smoke and become shaky.

Attempting to escape, the chopper started to head over towards the other side of Shoreside Vale. The Yakuza followed still followed, never stopped shooting at the Maverick in which Tommy was in. Finally the engine of the helicopter sparked and ignited in flames, creating coal black smoke. The controls of the chopper were disabled due to a gunshot hitting the wiring within the front of the chopper. Slowly the flaming Maverick lowered towards the ground. Yakuza watched from the bridge over the bay as the chopper combusted over the small pond like water in Wichita Gardens.

After combusting, the chopper dropped into the ice cold water, putting out the flames, leaving a smoke trail in the sky.

**A/N: Nope, not over yet. Please Review.**


	30. O'Donovan's Announcement

The sun's light was block off by a heavy sheet of clouds. The temperature lowered to about twenty degrees at eleven am. The ice cold water sizzled as the steaming hot, flaming metal of what was left of the Maverick sank into the small pond of water. Black smoke trailed about thirty feet above, showing the path from the choppers decent into the water.

The partially black and charred Maverick hit the bottom. The water was beautiful, a crystallized look from down under along with thousands of tiny air bubbles racing to the top. Tommy's body began to float along with the bubbles to the top. He broke through the top layer of water, coughing vigorously as he hovered over the middle of the pond. Using what scarce energy he had left, he pushed towards land.

He found himself laying upon frozen grass, his body numb, limp, shivering and his skin turning purple. A few more minutes like this and he would be dead. A green Tahoma pulled along the street yards away from Tommy. The driver was dressed in ragged clothing, a black shirt, tan pants and a tan vest. He had one-foot-long dreadlocks, Jamaican-looking. His passenger looked alike, but dressed in large blue jeans and a black jacket. He was huge; his muscle's unreal, but also overweight as well.

The large man exited the vehicle and started towards Tommy. He stared down upon Tommy, who was fiercely shivering upon the grass. Snow slowly covering him, he would die in due time. He grabbed Tommy, putting one of his oversized hands on his shirt, the other completely around the back of his neck. He returned to the Tahoma, carrying Tommy like a stray cat, with no struggle at all due to Tommy's fatigue. He opened the back door and tossed Tommy in like a rag doll. The Tahoma sped off before more LCPD arrived.

Later that day, Tommy awoke to a warm environment. He felt rejuvenated, covered in warm blankets and warm clothes. He opened his eyes and found he was in a very expensive looking, warm house. When he looked out the window, the thought of a house disappeared. A very tall building, an apartment building, due to the extraordinary view of Staunton Island below. The walls were dark brown, the floor a brown carpet with decorative rugs amongst the room. Exotic colored plants, furniture, paintings, even the doors created a warm and welcoming environment.

Not knowing where he was, Tommy arose from the comfortable recliner he was in. He shed off his large wool blanket. He examined his new threads; very blue levis, a cotton white shirt and another brown, white, blue, and grey stripped long-sleeved shirt with a collar. Only three buttons were buttoned and the sleeves were rolled up to just below his elbows. Tommy continued to the red door, opening it to another dark colored room. This one filled with a white couch, a polar bear carpet, a large Plasma screen TV, a brown-themed kitchen, various exotic plants, and a large fireplace. The smell of fire along with the constant crackling seemed oddly warm and comforting. To the left a large window let in bright blue daylight, outside was the now snow-covered downtown Staunton island, a beautiful view in which you could see all the way to the mountains in the North, past the ocean.

The door opposite of Tommy opened. The driver of the Tahoma stepped out slowly, the large passenger after him. He raised his hands as he spoke, "Look. sleepin' beauty has awoken." he spoke just like the Yardies did. The large man took a seat on the couch, examining Tommy. "Tommy."

"Who the fuck are you?" Tommy replied.

"I saved you man, from all of that shit that went down back there."

The large man spoke up, he had a deep Voice and spoke in a different accent than the Yardies did. "Hey, you treat him with respect boy. Or, uh, dude."

"Who are you?"

"Tommy," spoke the driver, "I am King Courtney. Of the Yardies."

"What the hell am I doing here?"

"You are here-to be given a warning man."

"Huh?" Tommy shrugged.

King Courtney smiled. "Butabi, show him what I mean."

The large man who's name was revealed as Butabi, arose from his seat and approached Tommy with a menacing look in his eyes. Tommy took a step back, staring into Butabi's large brown eyes. The attack was quick, less than a second and Butabi had punched Tommy extremely hard on his right cheek, bringing him to the ground. A few seconds passed and Tommy's view retuned. His face already ached, it was numb and felt like it was vibrating.

Tommy pushed himself back up. Butabi again threw his fist, this time cutting the skin under Tommy's eye as he forcefully dropped to the floor. He decided to lay there. Then Butabi's intimidating voice rang out, "Get up! Get up or I'll kill you!"

Tommy surrendered, rising from the floor once more. Butabi grabbed his neck, lifting him a foot off the ground. He held him in that position for thirty seconds before commanding: "**Fight back**. Fight back or die!" Butabi tightened his grip and Tommy began to struggle more while coughing, gasping for air. In the next few moments, eye lids closed. Butabi opened his hand and Tommy dropped to the ground.

Seconds later Tommy opened his eyes, standing up. "Now, get outta here man." King Courtney commanded, pointing at the door. "And never, never return to Portland or Staunton. We have more troops and merchandise you would ever think of. And if you do, we'll kill Hillary, and everyone you know."

Tommy's world was blurry and the ground shifted. He stumbled out the door dizzily, to return to Shoreside Vale-the only place the Yardies had no interest in.

It was almost ten pm by the time Tommy arrived at the warehouse (in the Esperanto he stole from an elderly woman). Slowly, he parked across the street and crossed the slow moving traffic to the hideout. He entered the back door, catching many looks from his men because of his clothing.

The next day Tommy was sitting at a table in the living area. The living area was a two hundred square foot, square-shaped room with one hallway down to the other side of the complex. It was warm in this winter time, a few cinnamon candles were lit giving off a pleasant aroma. The walls were green with brown trim, the ceiling was grey and had large industrial lights hanging the ceiling which was twenty feet up in the vast open space. There was a TV in the corner of this custom made room and two couches sit perpendicular to each other, across from the medium sized TV. The doors in this room are painted brown, various paintings hang from the walls and plants bring the rooms warmth and comfortableness to life. The guts of the warehouse were put together by Tommy's construction group. Before it was a large, empty warehouse with vast open space, then Tommy's construction team built all of the inside walls and staircases, making it more of a building than the warehouse it looked from the outside (without the windows of course). There were only two floors, but the building was still very roomy and warm with the new heating system which ran throughout the warehouse.

Tommy sat at a large wooden dinning table in a matching, uncomfortable, wooden chair with an amber bottle of beer in hand. "Hey," he spoke, "turn it to channel twenty four." one of his men grabbed the remote. The TV flickered, then a familiar jingle sounded:

"Liberty News"

The screen showed young anchorwoman Michelle Burk; long blonde hair. "Hi, glad your back, we now go to the Mayor of Liberty City at Town Hall."

The screen showed Mayor O'Donovan step up to a podium in front of a large blue curtain. "Residents of Liberty City, I stand before you today, to address a situation that has come before us. This city, could fall to its knees. I fear that an infectious disease has come upon Portland Island, and is needed to be evacuated." This message would be screened and hear throughout all of Liberty City. "Late last night, shortly after the aftermath of a gang shoot-out in Portland, the body count became extremely high. It attracted the Department of Health Services. Due to the large amount of the deceased in Portland, everywhere from rooftops to alleys, inside building to cars, along sidewalks- this is an amazing health hazard, the DHS has already confirmed the existence of three major diseases. You may call this number to learn more. For now, I Mayor O'Donovan, am announcing the evacuation of Portland Island, Liberty City. FBI units will be escorting you to one of three checkpoints. They are: Callahan Bridge, Porter Tunnel, and the Portland Subway. At these checkpoints, you will be tested for the disease. If you test positive, you will be quarantined and shipped to a State of the Art medical facility in Vice City. If you test negative, you will evacuate the city and be transported to Carcer City, where they have a visitors shelter and-" the TV flicked off. By this time, a crowd had gathered in front of the TV.

"They've been playing that message all day." announced Tommy.

"So," spoke of the gang, "that means Portland will be cut off from Liberty."

"Yeah," Tommy agreed, "and what else does that mean?"

"The Triads and Diablos will be gone." spoke another.

Tommy pointed at the man speaking, "Exactly."

"But, do you think they'll leave. They will resist, right?" he continued.

"They're gonna have to go. They have units all over Portland," Tommy began to walk to the other side of the room smoothly and quickly. "I mean, they have all sort of law enforcement here, from every state three hundred miles away."

"The Triads, and Diablos. They're screwed. They won't be back."

"Yes, but I don't think they'll go down without a fight." Tommy pointed out.

The man Tommy was having a conversation with started moving towards Tommy. As he passed, he looked Tommy straight in the eye, "Well see, Tom." he continued by.

With nothing else to do for today, Tommy retired to the couch watching Liberty City Survivor. It wasn't long before Fred took the empty seat upon the solid-white couch. "So, uh Tommy. I was wondering."

"Wondering what?" Tommy spoke aggressively. He seemed to be in a irritable mood, Fred contemplating weather he should ask for a few seconds. Out of the silence Tommy spoke again, "What? Fred."

"About, the-those bruises, and cut. On you face." Fred scooted back a few inches.

Tommy looked at Fred, "Ugh," he glanced back at the TV. "Just another gang trying to scare me from their territory."

"When was this?"

Tommy leaned up to the small end table, taking a drink of the amber liquid inside of a glass bottle. "After the chopper I was on crashed."

"Crashed?"

"Yes, crashed."

"Well, how did-"

"Don't ask."

Fred shook his head and left the couch. He slowly walked down the hallway, out of sight of Tommy. The young and beautiful Hillary passed him in the hall (heading the opposite direction), he continued past her, towards the end. As he entered his room, he glanced out the hallway. Jonathan Léon (The French spy who worked for the Don of the Padrino family) and Hillary stopped next to each other for a split moment. They turned heads towards each other, Fred saw her wink at Jonathan. They leaned close and their lips touched. Fred ducked back into his room. Jonathan passed his room on his way out.

Fred's heart was beating, Jonathan was going to be killed if Tommy found out about this. Curious, he returned to the living area. Just as he suspected, Hillary and Tommy were cuddled on the couch. Then it was true.

**A/N: Please Review!**


	31. Outnumbered and Outgunned

At one am Fred was sitting on his bed, still awake, contemplating his decision. For some reason he didn't want to tell Tommy, but felt like he had an obligation to fulfill. He was confused.

At two thirty he was so drowsy he almost fell asleep standing up. He took a seat, ready to turn the light off. His door slowly opened. His heart jumped. "What?" he whispered.

Tommy stood at the doorway. "Fred? It's two thirty in the morning, what are you doing up? You ain't smoking are that shit you?"

"No, no-Tommy. Just having a hard time sleeping."

"Is something wrong?"

"No-no, no Tommy. Everything's fine."

"Alright, but you should get some sleep." Tommy disappeared from the doorway.

It seemed like an eternity, but the clock slowly passed, it was almost four am. By this time, Fred was passed out against the wall with the lights on, drooling on his shirt.

The door creaked open. A masked man approached the unconscious body. Fred eyes exploded open. He was staring at the face of a killer- blocked by a black wool ski mask. It was too late to scream. A silenced 9mm was pointed at his head; Fred staring down the barrel. The silenced shots were _thwips_, unheard by the rest of the building.

Fred's body silently shocked after each shot- the bullets drawing dark red holes in his body. Some of the warm red liquid poured out of his mouth as he slid to the side, leaving a stain against the wall- his chest covered in blood soaked clothing.

The next morning Tommy was headed downstairs. Groggy, he stepped into the living area, passing a few men and then heading down the hall. He pushed open the door to Fred's room. "Fred?" Tommy examined the room, checking every little detail. Hillary's bed was empty, she slept upstairs with Tommy. The room was fixed up as if nobody had ever been there. Tommy dismissed anything bad had happened and went on with his day.

Two hours away, next to Carcer City lies a vast wasteland. The sun beats down hard on this sandy valley. About five minutes off of the State Highway, a Green Vincent came to a stop in the wasteland. Butabi and Jonathan stepped out of the car. The heat could be seen rising off of the ground in the distance; Butabi's underarms became wet with sweat.

"I can't take much more of this shit." Butabi announced.

"Just a little more." Jonathan replied.

"So, are you-uh. Sure he saw?"

"Yeah, Hillary said so. I trust her. I have to."

Both men were digging one large grave in the sand. Eventually they finished and pulled a body out of the trunk. It was limp; wrapped up in a black trash bag with some blood gathering inside. Butabi tossed the body into the hole carelessly. Before burying the rest of the body, Butabi put a few more bullets into Fred's lifeless corpse. "Only eleven in the fucking morning and it's already eighty degrees over here?" Butabi mumbled as they finished the job. After the body was covered the two men retreated to their car and sped off- back up the cold mountains and up to sea level where Liberty City waited.

Tommy sat on the couch in his expensive robe. Hillary was tugging at his arm. "Please Tommy?" she pleaded.

"No, sorry babe."

"Please?"

"I can't- I'm not in the mood, I'm not dressed." Tommy dug his hand into a bad of Doritos he had.

"Well then get dressed. Please I'm hungry. Please?" she leaned over and kissed his softly on the lips.

"You know-" he sighed, "You're like a dog, woman. Fine, I'll get dressed."

"Thanks sweetie. I'll be waiting outside." Hillary exited the building. Above, the sun heated up the city, melting a little of the ice and snow. Soon clouds would block the sun and the weather would become freezing again. It was four thirty pm, Hillary waited outside in a fashionable coat-keeping her warm from the still cold temperature.

Tommy eventually appeared at the door. Behind her, Hillary held the thumbs up sign for a few seconds. Tommy was struggling with a leather jacket, his hair was slicked back and had a newly shaved beard. He approached Hillary with a smile on his face. It disappeared.

A Sultan (vehicle) came to a stop, a mysterious man dressed in black and wearing a ski mask grabbed Hillary before she could react. She screamed intensely, hitting the man who was grabbing her. The vehicle sped off.

Tommy reached for the Single Action Army he kept in the coat. He couldn't bring himself to shoot at the car from his position; he could hit Hillary. A rush of adrenaline brought him to action. He dove into the street, bringing a Sentinel to a stop. He forced the business man out of his vehicle and gave chase. The tires screeched as he punched it.

He followed the Sultan, heading towards the Shoreside Lift bridge. "Great. A mother-fucking street racer." Tommy mumbled to himself. He was referring to the Sultan; a classic mod car for street racing. Amazingly, Tommy kept right up with the street racing vehicle. Once every minute or so, Tommy took a shot with the powerful revolver with his untrustworthy left hand.

He cursed as loud as he could. The chase lead off of the bridge and along the freeway towards Southern Staunton Island. As they sped past traffic a black hooded man leaned out the window, holding an MP5. The bullets sparked as they entered the hood. The repetitive pattern repeated itself until the vehicles came to a screeching stop outside of a skyscraper at the northernmost block of urban environment on Staunton Island.

The three armed assailants rushed through the entrance to the skyscraper as Tommy reloaded his Six Shooter. He went in after them. There seemed to be no civilians around. Tommy entered the Lobby. The floors, walls, and columns in the lobby were all made of marble. Through the doors hanging lights lit up the room; showing Tommy his enemies. Three armed men in bullet proof vests wielding MP5's were standing in front of the front desk. They three who had Hillary continued into an elevator on the opposite side of the room. The walls exploded as the gunshots rang out. Tommy dove through the gunfire to take cover behind a column near the front entrance.

And evil glare in Tommy's eyes. There were shouts in the background, then more shots rang out. Tommy gripped the revolver close to his head, in both hands. He cursed with a high level of anger, at such an intensity that he caught one armed assailant off guard. The revolver put a hole in his head. Tommy continued down the lobby, bullets plummeting though the air, coming closer and closer to his body. Some more shouts, "Robs down! Robs down!"

Peeking around a column, Tommy shot again and another man dropped to the floor. "Son of a bitch!" even more shots rang out, coming from the front of the lobby. Tommy quietly waited for the firing to stop. As soon as it did he dashed into the open, the last man attempting to jam a clip into his MP5. Tommy brought him down. The lobby was now covered in the all to familiar battle scars.

He dashed to the elevator, glancing at the one they took Hillary up in. It stopped four floors from the top.

In the elevator, Tommy emptied his revolver, unaware of how many shots he had just used. He reloaded anyway. He took a few large breathes, waiting for the doors to open. Two men stood in a room, in front of a hall as the doors opened. At the second they saw Tommy, they jumped; retreating into the hallway, "Oh shit! He's here!" one of them cried out.

Tommy sprinted down the hall following the men to the stairs. He was close behind them. The stairs were cement, in a jagged 'back and fourth' pattern all the way to the top. Tommy held out his revolver, taking a shot. The stray bullet hit a metal bar, reflecting off it and into a mans back. He stumbled onto the stairs, as Tommy sprinted by him his brains exploded onto the stairs from the shot. Finally they reached the roof. Tommy burst through the door.

The wind was blowing furiously, and clouds were vibrant in the sky and the sun high above them. The city looked cold, as did the ocean, the clouds, the mountains in the background, and Tommy himself. The roof was moderately plain, no railing, a few large AC vent's, and that was about it.

Hillary was in a headlock by a Yardie, a .45 pointed to her head. King Courtney standing to the right of Hillary. Butabi was also to the left. Two Yardie gunmen held MP5s, ready to shoot on Q at Tommy.

Tommy was outnumbered, and outgunned. "You'd better drop it, Tommy." King Courtney warned. Tommy shot an unfriendly look to Courtney, who was smiling. "What are you gonna do? Shoot me? You'd be dead before you could say 'cake'."

"Boss," Butabi spoke, "who the hell is that?" He pointed behind Tommy (who was still aiming the revolver). Courtney shrugged.

The gun cocked. "Freeze, Tommy." That voice was so familiar. Could it be? Tommy's eyes widened, he glanced behind him. His heart rate jumped.

"It can't be!" Tommy cried, "You! You're back!"

**A/N: Expect the unexpected and review this fic. Thanks, Aaron**


	32. 1993

**Carcer City, 1993**

The night was fiercely cold. The sky an unscratched black; no clouds, no stars. The wind blew strongly northeast, blowing stray newspapers and trash into the distance. A red car slowly pulled to the curve of a road in a suburban area. Down the road a black wall cut off the visibility, the moonlight giving a faint light which allowed eyes to see. No street lights were on, the small one story hotel was dark; it's residents resting in their beds.

Slowly and quietly, he turned off the vehicle, pulling the key out of the transmission. A cold, grey combat shotgun sit in the passenger seat. He took the weapon in his hands, shoving shells into the deadly firearm. When all the shots were in place, he cocked the gun and then put out the cigarette which dangled out of his mouth. Lifting up on the handle, he stepped out of the vehicle, shutting the door behind him.

The job would be easy; kill the witness. He was an old male; on the run and Tommy was the hunter. If he had lived, and made it back to Liberty City, Tommy would be a sitting duck. He was a photographer and had photographic proof of Tommy had committing the crime. He was in the shadows that night, at Portland Docks and he witnessed the massacre of which Tommy unleashed, taking photographs as it was happening.

Tommy caught the license plate of the car he drove and spotted it driving away from an abandoned house on Shoreside Vale. He and his wife left town almost a week ago. The old man must have known Tommy was on his tail; he hasn't gone to the police yet, at least not in Tommy's knowledge. Five minutes ago Tommy spotted the car again; after he lost it earlier that day in Carcer City. It was an old station wagon, parked outside of a cheap motel. Time to finish the job.

The door the station wagon was parked in front of was red with gold plated numbers on the door: "09". He didn't want to kill him, but his options were limited if he wanted to stay out of prison and not get the death sentence.

At the door Tommy took one last breath; the old man and his spouse were inside sleeping and he would catch and kill them by surprise. Before continuing Tommy hesitated; he felt like the cereal killers they talked about on Americas Most Wanted. He raised his right leg and with all of the force he could, smashed it into the door, bringing it off of it's hinges.

Two figures were on the bed; they both jumped up. The woman was closer to Tommy; closer to the door. He raised the hard, cold, killing weapon. The flame at the end of the barrel exploded with a thunderous sound, the old woman's body shot backwards over the bed leaving a crimson shower of blood to fall upon it.

The old man dashed to the counter, a small revolver-shaped item upon it at the opposite end of the dark room. Ready to pull the trigger, a surprising shot was fired from behind Tommy. Acting on impulse, Tommy dove for cover behind the bed.

Two men were approaching from the front door; police. The old man started taking shots, each bullet tearing through the blood spattered bed's sheets and mattress. Tommy raised the shotgun and fired one shot blindly over his head. The old man let out a scream, and then thumped to the ground.

"The is the Carcer city Police! Come out with you hand ups!" a young man's voice shouted. Tommy ducked again, crawling under the window, cocking the shotgun again. Outside words were thrown back and fourth between the two men; one was calling for backup. With no time to loose Tommy jumped up, shooting through the window; tearing away the curtains and shattering the glass pane. He cocked it again and let another shot off; the police dove for cover, one was hit and fell over in a growing puddle of dark red blood.

The other cop shouted something then cursed. Tommy dove through the window, somersaulting over the small curve. The cop raised his pistol, about to shoot; Tommy shot the into his face.

The sirens; they were coming, and fast, getting louder by the second. He broke into a sprint towards his car, hopping into the seat and digging in his pocket for the keys. The car revved up and shot out from the curve down the street, towards Liberty City.


	33. Pain and Suffering

The cold sensation at the back of his neck was the large barrel of a Desert Eagle. It buried itself in an inch of hair, ready to blow his head off. The wind became fiercely cold, as if they were on the peak of a mountain. The air became spotted white; the snow had started to come back whilst the sun still shining through a giant hole in the frozen clouds which floated above.

There were five Yardies: two gunmen, Butabi, Courtney, and the thug holding Hillary hostage. Tommy's Single Action Army was eager to shoot and tear the head of the thug who had Hillary. The old man from the hotel stood like a statue; his right hand extended to the back of Tommy's neck where the Desert Eagle rested in his hand. Under his black trench coat lay two more firearms; .45's. Everybody upon the rooftop were eyeing each other, sending warnings and threats through their eyes.

Tommy was confused; the shotgun hit him, no one could have survived that shot. And even so, why didn't he turn the photographs in? Well, it wasn't worth dwelling on the past, what mattered now was in the present. He was in a sticky situation and had to get out.

"Andrew Castillo." The old man spoke, his voice rough and raspy. "You killed my wife you asshole."

"Wow." King Courtney said. "Tommy had made a few enemies." Andrew drew out a .45 with his left hand, pointing the weapon towards Courtney. The gunmen switched targets; they were now aimed at Andrew. "Your making a mistake, old man."

"Who the hell are you?"

"Don't," Tommy warned, "Andrew, if you want to live past today, I would strongly suggest you put your weapons down and leave this place."

"No! Fuck you! You killed my wife. She was all I had left," his voice became teary. "God damn you. I swore that night you'd pay. I swore you'd pay!"

"What did you do with those photos?"

"I destroyed em'. Told the cops you took em'. I had to kill the little bastard- you, myself. But now, you must die." He pulled back the hammer.

Tommy pushed backwards, pulling up his left arm and slamming it down on Andrews, knocking the .45 out of Andrew's hands, both guns he held fired. One bullet, the one aimed towards Hillary, drilled into the thugs forehead producing a small crimson squirt as he dropped to the floor.

Tommy Twisted his hand and the Desert Eagle was now aiming into Andrews stomach. He was forced pulled the trigger and then the life left Andrews body. Tommy pulled the corpse in front of himself; it shocked every time the Yardies bullets hit the body. Through the cross fire, Hillary forced herself towards Tommy. She bent over to retrieve the .45 which was in Andrews other hand.

The gunshots stopped. Tommy's revolver was still lethal in his hands; aimed at the gunmen. The two groups exchanged threatening words and no shots were fired. A helicopter's propeller blades were _swishing_ in the background along with the wind. To check on Hillary, Tommy shot a look back at her, she was holding up the .45 and looking more menacingly than ever. Deadly beautiful.

He moved towards Hillary, still keeping his revolver aimed at the Yardies ahead who were waiting expectedly for something to happen; not firing and not even blinking an eye. "Hillary, run. Go now, I'll take car of this."

She pulled the hammer back; pointing the gun at Tommy. "No."

"What?" Tommy's looked back, his eyes widened, his voice cracked. "No." He stood shell-shocked, "No." His eyes were getting watery, "No, no. Not you. No. Not now" An evil grin grew from ear to ear upon Hillary's beautiful face.

The small pistol's shot echoed through the silence; traveling through the air throughout the city. Just under Tommy's left shoulder a small red hole exploded, the blood staining his clothes. His body became numb, his injured arm clammy. She was about to shoot again, Tommy made the hard choice of shooting his love. The Single Action Army mangled her head.

He collapsed under pressure; his eyes filling with tears. He was over, ruined. His body refused to move as he attempted to. He sat on his knees, the Yardies staring him down a few yards ahead, ready for him to attack. He never did. The large six shooter dropped from his hands, clanging loudly against the roof.

The large white Maverick appeared, it moved slowly, gaining enough height to lower onto the building. King Courtney motioned for his men to get onto the chopper. Tommy still sat dazed from the shock, the helicopters wind blowing in his face. He wasn't going to go out like this.

With all of his anger, all of his hatred, he would kill Courtney if he had to die trying. The revolver returned to his hand, the Desert Eagle Andrew had also joined. The Maverick was about to lift off when Tommy arose from his seat. His scream exploding with anger; he emptied the clip of the desert eagle and the revolver at the helicopter. One of the gunmen dropped from the chopper as if lifted off, bouncing lifelessly off the rooftop.

The large man, Butabi, leaped from the Maverick; his landing shaking the ground around him. Tommy discarded the empty firearms. His shoulder was numb with pain, but that wouldn't stop him from killing them. All of them. They had to die.

The chopper disappeared below and Butabi was approaching Tommy, and intimidating look on his face. He cracked his knuckles as he neared, Tommy raised his fists, the tension could be cut with a knife. The grin drew from ear to ear upon Butabi's large circular face. It wasn't long before Tommy attacked with all of him might on the first punch, screaming with rage as the fist flew into Butabi's face. He didn't move, and he did not flinch. Tommy's fist remained embedded within his face when Butabis oversized left hand wrapped around Tommy's wrist.

He was caught and he couldn't break free. Unable to escape, Butabi's right fist flew through the air. Tommy's head bounced back and his vision blurred; he could see Butabi's fist moving away in slow motion, a small stream of blood flying through the air out of his nose. He almost fell. The fist charged up and came again, the sound of the punch pleasing Butabi. He loosened his grasp, Tommy wearily stumbled away, his face numb and bloody. He grabbed his wounded shoulder, the pain worsening with every breath. When his focus came back he retreated a few yards back. Butabi charged, his had in front of him. Without any defense, Tommy was trusted back from the head-but. His chest throbbing in pain, it was hard to breath. Butabi stood still, preparing his next move.

Next to Tommy, on the ground, was Andrews dead body. A small metal handle visible under his corpse. The old man arriving was fate; Tommy could kill Butabi with the extra firearm Andrew was carrying. Tommy reached for it. It was a the other .45, loaded and ready to fire. He raised the handgun, firing three shots into Butabi's chest, then a few more towards his head. He stumbled a foot or two, coughed up blood, then fell over and died.

The Maverick was still hovering around the building, awaiting Butabi to finish his business. Butabi was dead; the Maverick was still hovering around. The gunman opened fire. Tommy strafed across the rooftop, emptying the clip of the .45 into the Mavericks metal frame while dodging the MP5's gunfire.

Now out of weapons, Tommy had to dodge the oncoming gunfire for roughly three more minutes. That was when he spotted the other dead gunmen. The shots stopped firing, probably to reload. He sprinted to the body, picking up the sub machine gun. He emptied the gunman's pockets of ammunition, ready to fight back he stood up.

The Maverick hovered in place over the roof. Tommy felt invincible; he felt no pain, only anger. They were about to leave. "No!" he shouted. "No yet! It's not over yet!" he coaxed.

He raised the MP5, opening fire on the Maverick. It was a game of dodge, fire, reload and then repeat. The battle continued five minutes later. With two clips left, Tommy continued to fight, screaming the entire time. The gun clicked, time to reload. He dashed towards a ventilation box, taking cover while he shoved the metal clip into the chamber. It clicked, he cocked it, and returned to strafing to the other side of the building. About halfway through this clip, two bullets hit his leg, tearing through the flesh, splattering blood upon the roof. He continued to fight through the pain, stumbling along the way. At the end of the clip the Maverick began to emit smoke and sparks. As he reloaded he could hear the arguing between the pilot and Courtney. They didn't leave. That was a stupid decision.

More bullets sprayed over the area where Tommy was, he had been hit again and again. Tommy was blood covered but he kept shooting. Finally he saw fire upon the Maverick and kept his gun pointed at it. At last it clicked empty, he tossed the weapon aside with great force. "The final shot." He grinned as he dashed to the other side of the roof, stumbling due to his pain; he had been hit, he didn't know how many times.

The chopper was behaving erratically, spinning around and lowering it's height. Coal black smoke puffed out of the engine of the helicopter; the computers beeping out of control and it was making stalling noises; it wasn't long before fire engulfed the entire aircraft. The screams satisfied his thirst for revenge.

The taste of blood in Tommy's mouth; it overflowed his lips. He watched through his pain as the flaming chopper dove towards a nearby office building. It shattered hundreds of window panes as it clashed into the side of the building, tearing up the guts of the building. Spectacular sparks and flames shot from the crash into mid air along with propeller blades and debris.

The flame and smoke trailed off. It left a burning hole in the building; civilians screaming and fleeing the area below. Just another normal day in Liberty City. A final explosion roared through Staunton Island. It engulfed a few floors of the office building in flame.

Tommy slowly made his way towards Hillary's body, almost collapsing from the pain and fatigue. Blood was dripping from his mouth and chest and legs. His constant cough was always filled with blood. The pain went away.

He stared down upon Hillary's body, his blood dripping over her. A tear dripped down upon his cheek. He spat upon her mangle corpse, and continued to the edge of the roof. Inside of the burning office building were the charring bodies of Kingpin and his gunman. The last remaining 'super' power in Liberty city had fallen.

A smile came upon his face. His legs collapsed, giving up on Tommy, finally. His body fell off the side of the building. A loud metal clang. He landed upon a scaffold a few floors below, unconscious. His body was draped in blood. Sirens below, Liberty's never ending fire department and police squads heading towards the conflict zone.

Tommy Vercetti had survied; through the pain and suffering, he is now the last remaining figurehead in Liberty City. He would surley be arrested; sent to a prison hospital but he would easily get out. And then it would be time to go for mayor O'Donovan. He would own Liberty City, as he did Vice City. Once this was completed, it would be time to rid the city of petty rivals i.e. the yakuza, South Side hoods, the last of the Yardies, and the last of the weakened Cartel. The Triads and Diablos were in the city no more, making Tommy's job that much easier. Liberty City would be his.

**A/N: So... what did you guys think? An extras page will be posted; it will list the characters, the reasons for the name changes, the tie-ins, which characters died and how, possibly an epilogue, the special thanks, and a few more goodies I might put in.**


	34. Liberty City Legends

**Liberty City Legends eXtras**

**Main Cast & Status:**

Max Payne: The lone cop that is the main character. Status: Unknown - Disappeared after car accident upon Shoreside Vale

Pierce Jefferson: Another lone cop who lost his family. Phil's younger brother. Status: Deceased - Killed during the Verdant Meadows shootout

Joey Leone: Sal's son, he was betrayed by the mafia and seeked vengeance. Status: Deceased - Killed after his betrayal, during the Verdant Meadows shootout

Claude Speed: Crime lord in Liberty City. Status: Deceased - killed during the Verdant Meadows shootout

Cesar Vialpando: Cameo, Claude's rival in racing. Status: Alive

Toni Cipriani: One of the JCF gang leaders. Status: Deceased - killed during the Verdant Meadows shootout

Leon Scott Kennedy: A cop who worked at SVPD with Max and Pierce. Status: Alive

Phil Jefferson: The corrupted brother of Pierce; former sergeant of SVPD. Status: Deceased - Killed shortly after the verdant Meadows shootout (at Verdant Meadows)

Dwayne Lyte: A news reporter. Status: alive

Tommy Vercetti: Crime Lord in Liberty City. Status: under arrest; recovering major injuries.

Phil Cassidy: Tommy and Claude's Allie, war veteran. Status: Deceased - killed by a rocket launcher during the Verdant Meadows shootout

Mario Piero: Tommy's right hand man. Status: Deceased - killed during the Verdant Meadows shootout

Ken Rosenberg: Tommy's friends and businessman. Status: Deceased - killed during the Verdant Meadows shootout

Gregory Lane: A thug living in Los Santos. Part of a gang. Status: Alive

Leo: Greg's friend and former gang member. Status: Alive

Vince: Greg's friend and former gang member. Status: Alive

Kingpin: A mysterious assassin, who's identity was stolen. Status: Deceased - murdered by the Jack crime families after failing to eliminate a target

Dr. Malcolm: An old army surgeon Max knows. Status: Alive

Connor Jack: The leader of Jack Crime Families in Liberty City. Status: Deceased - killed during the Verdant Meadows shootout

Jesse Jack: Son of Connor, just got out of high school. Status: Deceased - Killed during the Condo shootout between the Police and the JCF, the killer was Max

Stephen Santos: One of the JCF gang leaders. Status: Deceased - killed during the Verdant Meadows shootout

David Anderson: Chief of Staunton Island PD. Status: Alive

Nina: Greg's girlfriend. Status: Alive

Frank Stone: Greg's friend and gang member. Status: Alive

Jerry: Greg's friend and gang member. Has secret relations with Liberty City Mafia. Status: Alive

Gabriel Prince: Greg's high school friend. Status: Alive

Carl "CJ" Johnson: Gabriel's ally, resides in San Andreas. Status: Alive

Nicoletti Cruz: Leader of the mafia in Las Venturas. Status: Deceased - killed during the Verdant Meadows shootout

Padrino : Nicolettis right hand man, now the leader of the Mafia. Status: Deceased

Al Jack: Connors father. Status: Deceased - was assassinated during a gang hit, whist he was having a meal at Marcos Bistro

Jizzy: Owner of the pleasure Domes in San Andreas back in the early nineties. Status: Deceased - Killed by Carl Johnson in 1992

George: Nicolettis FBI informant. Status: Alive

Jack Speed: Claude's son. Status: Deceased - Killed at the end of the Verdant Meadows shootout

Katie Zhan: Claude's previous lover, Jack's mother. Status: Deceased - Killed during the bank robbery in Las Venturas

Jay Earnest: A banker in Las Venturas, cameo. Status: Deceased - Killed during the bank robbery in Las Venturas

Jose Smith: A French criminal who changed his name when he got to America.

Sean's Brother. Status: Deceased - Killed at his stronghold in San Fierro

Sean Smith: A French criminal who changed his name when he got to America. Jose's brother. Status: Deceased - Killed at his stronghold in San Fierro

Mr. Vince: A mysterious Italian with business relations in Las Venturas. Status: Deceased - killed during the Verdant Meadows shootout

Fred : A crack head informant of Tommy's who resides in Harwood, Liberty City. Status: Deceased - murdered in his room at Tommy's Shoreside hideout

Hillary : Tommy's girlfriend. Status: Deceased - Killed by Tommy shortly after betraying him

Valentine: Padrino's cousin. Cameo. Status: Deceased - killed upon arrival to Liberty City

Jonathan Léon: A spy, and double, even triple crosser. Status: Deceased - Killed upon the rooftop of the final showdown in downtown Staunton Island (one of the gunmen)

King Courtney: Yardie gang leader. Status: Deceased - died in helicopter crash, via Tommy Vercetti

Butabi: King Courtney's right hand man. Status: Deceased - shot down upon rooftop of building in downtown Staunton Island

Mayor O'Donovan: Mayor of Liberty City. Status: Alive

Andrew Castillo: Caught Tommy during a crime, his wife died and he seeked revenge on Tommy Vercetti, his wife's murderer. Status: Deceased - killed by gunshot to stomach, upon a rooftop in downtown Staunton Island

**The Name changes:**

1- Fight for Justice, based upon Max and Pierce's fight for justice against the Jack Crime Families.

2- We Were Brothers- based on the relationship between Pierce and his brother, and how it crumbles. After changing the original ending to new storyline content, the story evolved past this meaning, so I feel that it deserved a new title.

3-Liberty City Legend, the title that fits this story best because the story follows Max Payne, Pierce Jefferson, Tommy Vercetti, Claude Speed, Connor Jack, Padrino, and many more, legends within themselves.

**Tie-Ins and References**

1- Fame or Fugitive was mention in the beginning chapters, a book being read by Claude

2- "say hello to my little friend" and Scarface movie referenced in the beginning of story, it was on Max's TV.

3- Paths of Revenge was mentioned early on in the story, a commercial for a movie

4- PSP2, the second version of the PSP was used by Pierce in the stakeout scene

5- Gang Warfare, the one shot by lordmasterkris was the game Pierce was playing on the PSP2 in the stakeout scene

6- "Somebody Told Me" the song by the killers was on Leon's Police Cruisers radio

7- Julia, or Julie Chen, the host of NBC's Big Brother TV series

8- The game of life, the story was a TV show that Max watched

9- Three Kings: Down in Vice, a book read by Greg in Gabriel's apartment.

10- Candy Suxxx was on JBO (HBO in real life)

11- That 70s show references in the chapters about Greg's Los Santos life

12- Hot Coffee was mentioned in a chapter, a reference to the controversy

13- PS3, it was being played by CJ at his party

14- Family Reunion, this story was a movie Greg and Nina watched at Gabriel's house

15- Sex and Violence, this story was the making of a JBO movie that was mentioned by Pierce in Max's apartment prior to the plane flight to Las Venturas

16- LX-34 hand pistol, it was based on the LX-18 hand pistol in Time Splitters 3 and

17- the SOCOM pistol, which was in the Metal Gear Solid series

18- the Turismo that was won at the Visage was based on a casino on the strips sign which read "win a Turismo"

19- the foot chase in which Max chased Jose was based on a chase scene from the movie _Breaking Point_

20- Max getting hit by the crossbow bolt was just like when Naked Snake got shot by the Fear's crossbow bolt in Metal Gear Solid 3

21- "For Christ's sake Phil, quit waving that thing around!" was the line that Tommy used in Vice city

22- The PSG-1 was from the Metal Gear Solid series

23- When Kingpin reveal his identity was just like when Liquid Snake revealed his identity shortly before Snake fought the Metal Gear Rex

24- "The final gunshot was an exclamation mark to everything that lead to this point. ((I released my finger from the trigger)) And then it was over." - this was from the ending of Max Payne one

25- The Single Action Army was from Metal Gear solid

26- "The rain was pouring down like all the angles in heaven were taking a piss at the same time" - from Max Payne 2's TV show, Dick Justice

27- Fight Back, it was a reference to Adopted Thugs novelization of GTA 3

28- Carcer City was mention on GTA 3's radio station- a nearby city to Liberty City. I used it in this story

**Tommy Vercetti's Epilogue**

Shortly after recovering from his injuries, Tommy Vercetti escaped from Liberty City Penitentiary with aid from his gang. The Diablos never returned to Liberty City and the small group of weak triads were eliminated shortly upon re-arrival to Liberty City. The Yardies empire crumbled under the pressure with no one to lead them; they are now a harmless street gang roaming the Newport area of Staunton Island, hiding from Tommy's Criminal Empire. The Yakuza still remain to be Tommy's most dangerous enemies, the South side hoods harmless among the streets of Shoreside Vale. The Cartel, already weakened from Claude's attack in 2001, vanished from the city in the next months. Tommy Vercetti bought many assets throughout the city, turning rebel gang members into his men. He has created a Super Power-Criminal Empire among Liberty and Vice City, and plans to keep them without expanding to Carcer city or San Andreas.

**Special thanks**

Lastly, I would like to give a special thanks to the support I got from you guys; and a special thanks to the readers of this story and an ever MORE special thanks to those who reviewed my story. Just Kidding, but thank you dearly for reading, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I had typing it (sorry about the typos). Thanks you once again, and you will see more work for me, but this is my greatest work yet. Goodbye.


	35. 2024

March 24, 2024

"Hello?"

"Hi."

"It's about time. I've been waiting for hours."

"I know."

"Well, do you have what I want?"

"Yes, but I don't think I can give it to you."

"Why?"

"Well-"

"Whatever you make in a year, I'll double it."

"Alright, that sounds good."

"Glad to hear it, now tell me."

"Well, it was under a government agency's files, I'm not going to say which one."

"Get on with it."

"Alright- I found this file- it had all sorts of info about a young man on it. He owns a ungodly amount of assets, companies, you name it- he got it."

"Right."

"Well, I looked at the ID number listed at the top. 04774-77474-0156. I had to hack into the companies social records. The name that came up was Casey Vercetti."

"Casey?"

"Yes."

"Alright, fax me the page."

"I'm on it. Is that all of it?"

"Yes. Okay, goodbye."

"Goodbye. Mr. President."


End file.
